


heartbreaking reality

by StudentOfEtherium



Category: Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Aromantic, Gay, Gen, Melodrama, Multiplicity/Plurality, Slice of Life, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:55:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 28,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25786942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StudentOfEtherium/pseuds/StudentOfEtherium
Summary: Aoi has spent her whole life looking forward to the moment she would meet her soulmate. Toko, on the other hand, dreaded it. The two were destined to meet and spend their life together, but it's not that simple. Each's happiness is mutually exclusive with the other, but together or separate, they need to find common peace.
Relationships: Asahina Aoi & Maizono Sayaka
Kudos: 11





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Chapters 1-7: Winter  
> Chapters 8-12: Spring pt. 1  
> Chapters 13-21: Spring pt. 2  
> Chapter 22: Summer

Toko Fukawa had always hated the idea of having a soulmate. She felt it removed choice in her life. She felt it meant none of her actions prior to meeting “the one” would matter. Toko Fukawa loathed the idea of soulmates. When, at the age it always happens, the sentence supposedly to be spoken by her destined lover first appeared, she ignored it. Eventually, she had found out, through petty teasing at school when another girl saw it while they were changing for gym. Toko had ignored her.

From what she could tell, the other she had the misfortune of sharing her body with was far more into the concept. The pair were usually only able to communicate by a shared journal, and from that, Toko had learned of her other's actions and thoughts. Said other had a nasty habit of murder. She didn't kill frequently, but over the course of their nearly two decades of life, she had developed a high body count. Each time she killed, she would write down the victim's last words, hoping that maybe that would be the time she killed her destined lover.

Despite Toko's bitter feelings towards her uncomfortable and inevitable destiny, she was still drawn to romance. Starting at a young age, she had written stories, first short tales of love and then full novels. Her dad had connections to the publishing industry and through that in early middle school her stories started showing up in anthology collections and literary magazines. By the time she was moving on to high school, she had made her full-length debut. By now, in college, she had grown a steady following, giving her plenty to live off of.

In her stories, she would always write of romance as she wished it worked. Of being wooed, of falling in love. Her stories featured uncertainty and doubt about love, built on the idea that love is not inevitable. She cherished the thought of falling in love, but only after knowing someone and having the  _ time _ to fall in love with them.

Toko Fukawa wished to fall in love on her own terms.

Aoi Asahina had always liked the idea of having a soulmate. She longed to find the one person she would spend her life with. She felt that her whole life was nothing more than the prologue to the moment when she would meet the person who would complete her. Aoi Asahina loved the idea of soulmates. As soon as she was of age for the sentence to appear, she searched across her body for it. It took a number of weeks to appear, but once it did, she memorized it.  _ “I don't care as long as you don't bother me.”  _ wasn't exactly the most glamorous phrase she could have been left with, but nonetheless she cherished it.

Aoi grew up on a small island in Okinawa. The island was rather lacking in amenities, being home to a small theater and little more. As an energetic child trapped with little to do, she found herself exercising often. It wasn't long before she learned to swim and once she did, it was like her life was changed. She spent her free time at the beach, diving and exploring the local coast. In middle school, her mother started signing her up for competitions and by high school, she was competing at the national level. Soon, she had a number of sports scholarships coming in from across the country, giving Aoi her choice of city to leave to. She picked Tokyo.

Aoi hadn't hated living in Okinawa. In fact, she quite liked it. The laid-back culture and warm climate suited her. She loved living on a small island, as she was able to know everyone and keep in touch. She liked living in Okinawa, as the trips she took with her mother and brother to Naha or other local cities ensured she never felt cramped or trapped. She especially loved being surrounded by so much water, as it gave her so much space to swim and explore. But Aoi knew that if she wanted to meet her soulmate, she would need to leave her hometown for somewhere bigger, so soon after she graduated high school, she said goodbye to her mother and brother and all her childhood friends and left for Tokyo.

Aoi Asahina wished for love to be inevitable.


	2. January 20th

It was the first day of spring semester. The weather outside was still chilly and snow covered the ground. Toko checked her new schedule on her phone and walked towards a large building. This was a section of campus she hadn't visited before and as such, it was unfamiliar to her. She hadn't taken a math course last semester, but she knew it wasn't something she would always be able to put off, so she committed herself to starting that now.

She stumbled through the halls until she found the right classroom. Still several minutes early, she sat down at a desk towards the middle of the room. She sat her bag down and took out a fresh new notebook, along with some writing utensils. With nothing else to do, she waited as the rest of the class came in and sat down. Class began and the teacher started handing out the syllabus. She had begun to explain the class when she was interrupted. Aoi burst through the door. “Sorry! I couldn't find the building or the classroom! Sorry I'm late!” A collection of groans and laughing rippled through the class. The teacher quieted the class down and gestured to Aoi, asking her name. Aoi replied and the teacher marked her as late.

“There's an open seat there in the middle. You can sit there.” The teacher pointed at the desk next to Toko. Toko sighed as Aoi made her way past several other students. The dark-skinned girl passed Toko and as she did, said “Sorry, Ms. Glasses. I guess I'm sitting here now.” She smiled and shrugged. Toko sighed and whispered to her. “I don't care as long as you don't bother me.”

Aoi's face lit up and she started letting out a high-pitched whine. She stared at Toko until the teacher called out. “Ms. Asahina? Care to sit down?” As if remembering where she was, Aoi nodded and sat down next to Toko. For the rest of class, she couldn't pay attention to anything other than the girl with whom she had now spoken to once. Toko did her best to ignore her and instead focused on the teacher. Since it was the first day of this class, the teacher had less to cover and so she let out her students a few minutes early.

Toko packed up her bag and waited until the desks around her were more clear. Aoi, who had never bothered to take anything out of her bag, simply shoved the syllabus everyone had been given into her bag and kept staring. Soon, less than half a dozen students remained in the classroom, at which point Toko stood up and started leaving. Aoi followed. As their classes were both over, neither had anywhere to be. Toko started walking back to her apartment. Her latest novel was nearly ready for release and the publisher had a small number of PR statements relating to her upcoming new novel. Aoi, on the other hand, had no plans. She had very quickly learned it was inadvisable to go swimming in deep winter, and while she would still sometimes make her way to an indoor pool for practice, it had temporarily stopped being something she did for fun.

Toko did her best to ignore Aoi, hoping at some point she would get bored and go away. That didn't happen and before long, the pair were stopping outside of Toko's apartment. She turned around, faced the shorter girl, and sighed. “Why are you stalking me? Do I need to call the police?” Aoi backed up slightly at that. “No! Not at all!” she pointed to an area slight below her left breast. “We're soulmates! Obviously, I can't show you my sentence anymore, but I knew this would happen so I took a picture!” She grabbed her phone out of her purse and pulled up a picture. It was of her stomach, and in gold lettering, there was the sentence, “ _ I don't care as long as you don't bother me. _ ” She excitedly shoved her phone at Toko. “See! We're destined for each other! It's fate!” Aoi gestured at the door. “Can I come in?” Toko opened the door and wordlessly slammed it behind her before Aoi could follow her further. They didn't see each other for the rest of the week. They only had a single shared class and Toko's reclusive nature ensured Aoi wouldn't stumble across her in the wild.

That night, Aoi met up with some friends. Normally, they would meet for karaoke or something similar, but after the day's events, Aoi was too excited for that. She had called a couple friends and they had agreed to meet at a family restaurant. She was the first to arrive and as she sat waiting, she was unable to sit still. Thankfully, before long, she saw Sayaka walking over. The blue-haired girl sat down across from her and groaned. “Dance class today was tiring. Practice with my group afterwards was worse. But while I was walking here, a fan noticed me. I fucking hate running into fans outside of shows.” She slumped in the booth.

“Hey Aoi.” Aoi waved at the tired idol. “Hey Sayaka. Sorry to hear all that.” Sayaka shook her head. “It's fine. It happens.” She stretched a little and sat back up. “I'm just cranky because my group has been working on demos for the last month. Nobody but our manager thinks we're ready for this.” Aoi nodded, clearly only half paying attention. She knew Sayaka just needed space to vent. The idol continued. “And over break we did three lives. Each needed their own hours and hours of practice. Anyone who says idols don't do work is a fucking-” She was cut off by Ibuki sitting down next to her.

“Heyyy.” The punkish girl introduced herself. Sayaka sighed and stopped her rant. Ibuki glanced at the girl next to her before deciding to leave her unaddressed. She looked back at Aoi. “So! Ibuki heard!” Aoi blushed and giggled. “Yeah…” Ibuki leaned forward. “So! Tell Ibuki! Who is it! What's she like?” Aoi shrugged. “Quiet. Bookish. She wears glasses. We didn't talk much.” Aoi leaned back in her seat. “We sit together in math, which is how we met.”

Ibuki nodded. “Ibuki sees. Some sort of ‘opposites attract’ situation.” Aoi shrugged again. “I guess. I really don't know much about her. I tried to talk to her after class and even followed her to her apartment after class, but she was pretty quiet the whole time. I want to get to know her! I'll try again next week.”

A waitress came by and took the trio’s orders. In addition to her dinner, Ibuki ordered a beer. Shortly after, the waitress returned with a bottle, before leaving again. Ibuki watched her leave and once she was out of sight, Ibuki slid the bottle towards Sayaka. Sayaka wordlessly pulled out a thousand yen bill and handed it to Ibuki. Sayaka checked to make sure the waitress wasn't around before taking a sip. Satisfied, she focused her attention back on Aoi.

“So do you even have this girl's name?” Aoi nodded. “The teacher called it out at one point. Fukawa, I think.” Sayaka pulled out her phone. “Did you catch her first name?” Aoi thought for a second. “I didn't catch that. Might not have been said.” Sayaka nodded and tapped away at her phone. After a few seconds, she turned her phone around towards Aoi. “This her?” Aoi nodded. “Yeah! How'd you find her?” Sayaka laughed. “Dunno if it's lucky or not, but your soulmate has a Wikipedia page.” Aoi didn't try to hide her shock. She grabbed Sayaka’s phone and scrolled the page. “Huh???” Sayaka shrugged. “I thought the name sounded familiar. She's an author. One of the girls in my group is a fan of her, so I've heard a little about her here and there. I knew she was young, but I never realized she's in the same grade as us, let alone the same school.” Aoi handed Sayaka back her phone and pulled out her own. “My future wife is famous, huh…” She laughed. “I guess I should check out some of her books, then.” On her phone, she pulled up Amazon and started browsing. She picked out a couple of Toko's newest books and ordered them to her dorm. She shoved her phone back in her purse and turned back to the other two girls. “Thanks, Sayaka! I'm still so…” Aoi yelped. “I don't even know! I'm just excited! I found her! Ahhhhh” Sayaka smiled at the energetic girl. “No problem, Aoi.”

Ibuki spoke up. “Ibuki is really happy to hear this happened, Aoi. You're so young, too! You have your whole life ahead of you with this girl.” Aoi blushed. “Yeah… I just… need to defrost her chilly exterior.” Ibuki laughed. “A tsundere, huh? Have fun.” Aoi smiled slightly at that. “Maybe I will.”

“If Ibuki's being honest, she's happy she hasn't found her soulmate yet. Means she can play around with girls as much as she wants.” Aoi laughed. Ibuki gestured to her neck. “Plus, it makes a cool tattoo.” On the right side of her neck, in gold lettering, was the words “ _ Do you want to die?”  _ Ibuki laughed. “This is metal as fuck.” Aoi shrugged.

Sayaka groaned and rested her head on the table. “I'm just glad my mark is easily hidden. This kind of shit is hell for idols. A girl in a rival group had her mark on her hand, so when she found her soulmate, everyone knew and she had to retire. Frankly, though, I don't give a shit about finding my soulmate. My career comes first.” Sayaka sighed and leaned away from the table. She started reaching for her drink when she saw the waitress coming back with their dinners. The waitress dropped off the food and walked away, eyeing Ibuki and Sayaka as she left. Sayaka groaned.

The trio's conversation turned to school and how they had spent break. While Aoi had returned to Okinawa over break, both the other girls had stayed in Tokyo. Sayaka had been busy with her idol group and while the band Ibuki played in had a looser schedule, she had still been kept busy with shows and studio recording. Aoi, on the other hand, was able to use her break as an actual break away from school and work.

Before long, they were done. Sayaka left on her own early, as she had singing lessons early in the morning. Ibuki and Aoi left together. They walked as far as they could together, continuing the conversations from the restaurant, until it was time for them to split ways. Aoi walked back to her dorm and crashed in bed. As she lay on her back waiting to fall asleep she pulled up Toko's Wikipedia page and read it over and over again until she passed out.


	3. February 16th

Over the next couple weeks, Aoi tried every Monday to talk to Toko. She found herself constantly ignored by the bookish girl, but never once did her spirits drop. At every setback, she promised herself she would break through eventually. But then, after those couple weeks, when the weekend came, Toko's turn was over. The other finally got her turn to front. She always insisted on having her own time with the body to give it rest from Toko's strenuous study and work schedule. As she would explain in the journal,  _ You work yourself too hard. If I don't do  _ something _ , you'll be the death of us _ . Toko disliked that argument, but found it hard to refute.

Since Toko fronted more than her, she'd had little time to develop interests, so often she would just go to a crowded area and watch people. She found it comforting, but more importantly, it let her scope out new boys to target. Her last kill had been nearly six months prior at this point and she was ready to find a new boy to befriend, seduce, and kill.

And so she sat in the school common area. Snow still covered the ground outside, and outside a number of groups were making use of that for their own amusement. Inside, the building was crowded by students working on projects, homework, or doing early studying. She watched as people passed by, but failed to see anyone who caught her eye.

“Toko?” Aoi yelled from across the room. She was coming from weekend swimming practice, with the plan to stop at the cafeteria before returning to her dorm. The other girl looked at her quizzically. “Do… I know you?” Aoi ran up to her and grabbed her hand. “I'm Aoi? We sit together in math?” The other Toko sighed. “Did she really make a friend…? I'm absolutely shocked.” It was Aoi's turn to be confused. “I'm sorry, I don't get who you're referring to. I'm Aoi, your soulmate, remember?” At that, the other girl directed her attention fully at the energetic girl in front of her. “No, I don't. You'll have to forgive me, my memory can be rather spotty.” She stood up and stretched. “Do you want to come back to my apartment so we can talk about this?” Aoi's face lit up. “Yes!” She grabbed the other girl and hugged her tightly. The taller girl slipped out of the embrace and gestured to the athlete to follow her.

The two made it back to Toko's apartment and she let Aoi in. Following after her, she locked the door behind her. Aoi walked down the short hall and into the main room. It was a small, three room apartment. In the hallway to the main apartment, there was a small kitchen. At the end of the hall was a small living room, and to the left, a pair of doors. One led to a small bathroom while the other led to a cramped bedroom. The walls of both the bedroom and living room were lined with bookshelves crammed with all kinds of books, from pamphlets to textbooks, along with a number of notebooks. Covering the window were thick curtains making the room substantially darker than it otherwise would've been. It was obviously not an apartment meant for entertaining guests.

The other Toko rushed over to the bedroom and closed the door. Aoi glanced around the room and eventually sat down on a small couch. Across the room was a dusty TV, clearly unused. The other girl glanced around the room before sitting down in a chair near Aoi.

She sighed. “Y'know, I was really convinced she wasn't ever going to find a soulmate. She never goes out and she doesn't talk to people.” Aoi looked confused. “How was it you ended up saying the sentence?” Aoi pulled out her phone and showed the picture of her sentence. “Well, I had shown up late and the only empty seat was next to you, so I sat down next to you and apologized for bothering you, which is when you said it.” The other Toko nodded. “And did I show you my mark or confirm what you said to me?” Aoi shook her head. “Nope. I tried making conversation, but you never responded.” The other Toko laughed. “Sounds like her, yeah.” Aoi's confused look returned. “Can you tell me what specifically it was you said to me?” Aoi thought for a second. “I think it was something like ‘Sorry, Ms. Glasses. I guess I'm sitting here now.’” The other Toko smiled. “Damn. I guess it's true.” She started muttering to herself. “I guess I could've done worse. She's kinda twinkish. Big breasts are a plus, if it had to be a girl.” She scanned the dark-skinned girl from head to toe. Aoi's confusion increased. “I don't get what you mean? Toko you're acting really weird.” 

The other girl leaned over and grabbed Aoi's hand. “Hey, can you keep a secret? Promise not to tell anyone.” Aoi stuttered over herself. “Uh. I- I guess? Sure, if we're spending our lives together, I'm sure we'll have at least a few secrets together.” The girl holding her hand laughed a little. “I'm not actually Toko. Well, I am, but not the one you met.” Aoi cocked her head to the side. “I don't get what you mean?” 

“There's two Toko Fukawas. You met the boring one in class.” Aoi remained confused. “There's two of you? Are you twins?” The other girl laughed. “Of sorts, I suppose. The difference is we share the same body.” Aoi thought for a second. “Oh! Is it like-” The other girl cut her off. “Whatever film you're about to compare us to: stop. Chances are, we've already heard it.” The dark-skinned girl frowned. “I… don't really know what to make of this. It's all very fantastical.” She sighed. “If you're both Toko, do you at least have something I can call you? It's confusing for me this way.” The other girl shrugged. “News reports usually call me Syo.” Aoi smiled. “Okay, Syo!” 

“So I guess… You're my soulmate too?” Syo shrugged. “Maybe. I certainly wouldn't mind. Unlike Ms. Morose, I don't take issue with the idea of my soulmate being a girl. Well, she doesn't particularly like the idea of having a soulmate period, but I imagine it's gonna be especially tough for you.” Aoi's confused look returned. “What do you mean?” Syo laughed. “Your soulmate isn't into girls. She's straight.” Aoi frowned. “But… We're supposed to be fated to fall in love. that's how this works!” Syo laughed harder. “Sorry, Ms. Soulmate, I don't think you're getting the happy ending you expected.” Aoi frowned, before rebounding. “This just means I'll have to try harder to win Toko over!” Syo giggled. “Good luck with that.” 

Despite her fiery passion, Aoi had no idea what to do next. “Can you, like, change who's out on command?” Syo shook her head. “Nah. Generally works on a schedule, but it's out of our control. We can't communicate, either.” Syo had no qualms about lying to Aoi about their control over switching. She paused. “Outside of a shared journal we have, that is. We’re not dumb enough to not figure something like that out”. Aoi frowned. “Well, I suppose I can take this time to get to know you. You're just as much my soulmate, and if we're getting married, then I shouldn't neglect either of my wives!” Syo rolled her eyes. “I guess.”

As if taking this as an opportunity for an interview, Aoi started asking Syo a number of questions about herself and Toko. Things such as favorite foods, where they grew up, or their taste in movies. Syo brushed a lot of them off, but answered enough to keep the excitable girl engaged. As the pair talked, she studied Aoi. She found the excitable girl interesting. She made mental notes of the more standout details and filed them away. After little over an hour, she started pushing the swimmer to leave. It took her another twenty minutes to get her out of the apartment. The two of them exchanged phone numbers as she left. While Toko didn't care to keep in touch with Aoi, Syo had interest in having means of contact with the swimmer. Once she was out, Syo sighed and went into the bedroom. She collapsed on the bed. It was too early for dinner, but she was too tired for anything else. With nothing better to do, she grabbed the journal on the nightstand and started writing down her account of the day's events. It didn't take long, but by the time she was done, she felt it was late enough for dinner. She prepared some simple food and sat down at a small table off to the side of the room. When she was done, she put her dishes in the sink and spent the rest of the night in bed listening to music, before passing out in a disheveled state.


	4. February 17th

The next day, Aoi and Ibuki were sitting in a café together. Sayaka had been invited, but she had declined, citing practice with her group as the excuse. She had been especially busy lately, so the other two were used to it. It was a Sunday, so the café was crowded. Ibuki had ordered a coffee and an early lunch. Aoi, on the other hand, had ordered a hot chocolate and a pair of donuts.

“So, you said you had a chance to talk to her?” Aoi laughed nervously. She had texted the other two while Syo had been leading her to the apartment, but she hadn't given any update since. Ibuki leaned over the table excitedly. Aoi avoided looking the other girl in the eye. “Well…” She trailed off. Ibuki looked shocked. “This nervousness… Did you-” Aoi cut her off. “No, it's nothing like that.” She stopped and thought for a second. “While I was at her apartment, we talked for a few hours. A lot came up, but…” She trailed off again. She sighed. “I had to promise not to talk about a lot of it.” Ibuki nodded. “Interesting, interesting. Well, is there anything you  _ can _ tell Ibuki?” Aoi took a bite out of one of the donuts as she thought. “Um.” She sighed. “Well, the most depressing part is that she's straight.” Ibuki grimaced. “Ouch. That's really unfortunate for the both of you.” Aoi nodded. “From what I gather, she doesn't seem too interested in soulmates period.” She sighed. “I have such terrible luck.”

Ibuki shrugged. “It's destiny and fate. It's a fact that you two will end up together. Just don't be pushy and Ibuki is sure things will work out in the end.” Aoi stared at her drink. “I sure hope so…”

She sighed again. “Getting to actually talk to her was nice, though. In private, it's almost like she's another person.” She giggled at her joke. Ibuki showed her confusion for a second before brushing it off. “Well, Ibuki is glad you got to talk to her. Did you get her phone number?” Aoi nodded. “I haven't tried texting her back or anything yet. Gonna try talking to her again on Monday.” She blew on her drink and took a first sip.

“I still need to check out Toko's books.” Ibuki laughed. “Didn't you order those weeks ago?” Aoi shrugged. “I've always been more of an athlete than a reader. Lacking the weather to swim hasn't changed that.” She took another sip of hot chocolate. “I'll try and get to them soon, anyway.”

She looked out the nearby window onto the busy street. It was a sunny day outside, but despite that, it was chilly and a recent snowfall covered the sides of the street as it was trampled by pedestrians. Despite her time in the city, this sort of weather and these sorts of behaviors were still a novelty to Aoi. By this point, the dark-skinned girl had a good selection of weather-appropriate clothes, but she was far from adjusted to it. She shivered and took another sip of her drink.

For the rest of their meeting, the two girls talked about lighter matters. Ibuki's band was preparing to release their second album. She spoke a lot more music lingo than Aoi understood, but she gathered it was a good thing. In passing, Ibuki mentioned her band planning to play a short tour in America over Spring break. Aoi sighed at that. Ibuki explained her choice and Aoi agreed with Ibuki's reasoning behind it, but she was still rather disappointed. Rather than linger on that topic, the pair moved onto other subjects.

Soon after that, the pair finished up. Ibuki left for band practice and Aoi returned to her dorm. As she came in, she saw her roommate on her bed typing away at her laptop. She waved and greeted her. “Hey Kyoko.” The violet-haired girl waved back silently. Aoi crashed on her bed and started reaching for her desk. There laid a small stack of books, all written by Toko. After several minutes of struggle, Aoi was eventually able to grab the top one off the pile. She laid back and started reading. 

An hour later, she was just over a couple dozen pages in. It wasn't that she was a bad reader, but that she kept getting distracted. Things happening outside her window, teammates texted her about upcoming practice, or friends trying to make plans. It wasn't her fault, but things kept happening to distract her. Aoi sighed and looked over at Kyoko. At some point, she'd put away her laptop and took out a book of her own to read. She considered asking the other girl how she focused, but from experience she knew Kyoko wouldn't be particularly responsive. By the end of the night, she had gotten a bit over a chapter in. She sighed and returned the book to where she'd picked it up from. 

Classes would be starting early the next day, so rather than stay up any later, Aoi opted to go to bed early. She left to get ready for bed and when she returned, she turned off the light. Kyoko opted to turn on a small personal light on her side of the room and keep reading her book. The room had a black curtain that ran across the halfway point. Aoi drew it far enough that the light wasn't keeping her up and quickly fell asleep.


	5. February 18th

Syo turned the body back over to Toko on Monday so she could go to classes. After waking up, she read over the journal and grumbled about Syo's meeting with Aoi. Putting it out of her mind, she went along with her day. It went by without note until math class. She arrived early as usual and sat down in her seat. To her surprise and disappointment, Aoi arrived early. At that time, they were the only two in the classroom besides the teacher. Aoi greeted her soulmate.

“Was the rest of your weekend alright?” Toko took a second to think through what had just been said. Once she realized what the other girl meant, she let out a deep sigh. “Ah, sorry. It's hard to tell you two apart.” Toko sighed again. “So says everyone who knows about us. She told me about that exchange, although I have no idea how much she left out.” Aoi thought about it. “Well, I could look at your journal and see what she left out.” Toko reacted poorly. “That's for our eyes only.” She groaned. “You shouldn't even know about this in the first place. That bitch should've kept quiet.” 

Aoi shrugged. “Well, she told me. And I like her! She's nice.” Toko laughed darkly. “You clearly don't know her at all, then.” Aoi shrugged. “Maybe I don't. But she's my soulmate just as much as you are, so I should try my hardest to get close to both of you.” Toko sighed again.

Other students began entering the classroom, so Aoi tried changing the subject. Rather than play along, Toko stopped responding to her and started reading over her notes from the previous class. Shortly after, the bell rang and the teacher started class. Aoi turned her focus away from Toko and tried paying attention to the lesson.

After class, Toko stuck behind as usual. Unlike the last several weeks, Aoi opted to stay behind with her. Once the last students left, Toko stood up and Aoi followed her. The pair walked in silence for a while before Toko turned around to face Aoi. “Why are you following me?” Aoi shrugged. “After Saturday, I realized I still have my chances with you.” Toko took a few steps back. “You… You plan to blackmail me! You plan to use my secret to ruin my reputation and force me to have nowhere to turn to but you.” 

Aoi paled and stammered. “N-no, that's not it. I- I just want to get to know you better.” She tried approaching Toko, who responded by backing away from her. “Why would I want to hurt someone I love like that?” Toko glared. “Why would you love me? You haven't known me long enough to love me.” Aoi stopped walking towards her. “That might not be the case for you, but I already know everything I need to know about you. You're my soulmate. You're the one person in this world who is perfect for me.” She stopped herself. “Well, two I guess, but that's besides the point. Toko, I already know you're perfect for me, but I don't  _ need _ to fall in love with you. I already love you. Isn't it natural to want to get to know more about the person I love?” She took a breath. “You're a romance author, right? Wouldn't you know more about this than anyone?”

Toko shook her head. “Why would I know what that kind of delusional fake love is like? You don't love me. You think you do because we happened to be matched by forces outside of our control. You say I should know because I write about love, but the love I write isn't this fake petty love you cling to. It is earned.” She took a step towards Aoi. “I despise the kind of fake love you claim to hold for me. It's disgusting. Why would I accept being told to fall in love with someone without knowing them and without having the time to fall in love with them. If and when I fall in love, it will be with someone I know enough to fall in love with. It won't be for some meaningless words you happened to say to me. And rest assured, when I do fall in love, it won't be with you or anyone like you.” She turned away. “Just leave me alone. I don't and I will not love you. I'll find the man of my dreams on my own and you'll get over me in time. Such a fake and fleeting love will fade as quickly as it came.”

Without another word, she walked away. Aoi stood in place for a while. Small tears formed in her eyes. It was cold enough that she wiped them away for concerns of them freezing on her face. She looked up at the sky. Dark clouds implied snowfall later. Only then did she check where the pair had stopped. It was a small, empty park. She looked around. It seemed rather standard. She walked over to the swing set and brushed off a thin layer of snow that remained from the last snowfall and sat down. She lightly rocked back and forth as she thought back on the conversation she had just participated in. As difficult as it was to accept, it seemed like she really wasn't going to have a love like she always wanted. She cried a little more.

She thought through her options. She still believed she would be able to win over Toko, but in her heart, she knew it was a fruitless task. Syo, then. The other girl hadn't mentioned anything on the subject of sexuality, so Aoi had no idea where she lay. Whenever the two next met, and Aoi was certain they would meet again, she would pursue that topic. But Syo was Syo and Syo wasn't Toko, and despite what Toko had said, Aoi loved Toko. She wholly believed in her love for the quiet and bitter girl, even in the face of everything she was. So for as much as forcing Toko to fall in love with her wasn’t an option, neither was giving up on love and letting her get away. She sighed and wiped the tears still flowing from her eyes.

She shivered. Sitting out in the cold when crying was a bad idea and even someone as unaccustomed to cold weather as her could figure that out. For that matter, what would people think if they were to stumble across this college student sitting in a children's park sobbing her eyes out. She forced a laugh at that and wiped away the new pools of tears. As she pulled her phone out of her coat pocket to check the time, she noticed Sayaka had sent her a text a few minutes prior. “Ibuki and I are planning to do some drinking tonight. You want in?” Aoi always declined these things as she still wasn't old enough to buy her own alcohol and she wasn't fond of underage drinking, but given her current mood… She tapped away at her phone quickly and sent the response. “Sure. I'll be over soon.” She returned her phone to her pocket, once again wiped away tears, and started walking in the direction of Sayaka's apartment.


	6. February 18th Cont.

Sayaka was well into her first beer when Aoi showed up. The idol saw dried tears and decided not to pry. “Hey Ibuki! She's here.” The punk waved as Aoi passed her in the hall. “Oh, hey!” Aoi meekly waved back. “Hey…” The two musicians seemed to pick up on her mood. Ibuki nodded and opened the fridge. She pulled out a bottle and walked into the main room. She put it down on the table next to a set of cups and returned to the kitchen.

Sayaka's apartment wasn't particularly large. Unlike Toko's, it didn't separate the bedroom and living room. Instead, in the corner of the room, there was a bed, while in the center, there was a floor-height table. The hallway between the door and the main room had a kitchen similar to Toko's apartment. Sayaka was sitting at it, leaning on an arm facing backwards.

Aoi set her bag down at the front of the room and shed her coat. Ibuki returned from the kitchen, this time carrying a number of non-alcoholic beverages. She glanced at Aoi as she sat down. “You okay?” The athlete shook her head. Ibuki shrugged. “Good night for this, then, I guess.” She passed the cups around the table. “So, Aoi, you've never been drunk before, right?” She shook her head. “I'm still underage, remember?” Sayaka laughed. “Yeah, so am I, and look where that got me.” Aoi smiled weakly.

Ibuki started pouring drinks. “Ibuki can't know what you like, so we're just gonna try a bunch of things.” She picked up a bottle and opened it. Sayaka opened one of the non-alcoholic beverages. “As much as I love vodka, I admit the taste isn't great, and because you're new to this, it's best to dilute it a bit.” She poured some juice into each cup. Aoi noticed hers had more than the others. Once Sayaka was done, Ibuki poured the alcohol. Sayaka lifted her glass. “Cheers.” The three took a drink at once. Aoi grimaced. Ibuki cackled. “That's definitely the face of someone trying vodka for the first time.” Aoi groaned. “The juice definitely helps, but yeah, that sucks.” Sayaka shrugged. “I find the flavor tolerable enough for the alcohol content.” She took another drink. “Gets me drunk quickly and that's what matters.” Aoi nodded.

Ibuki gestured to her swimmer with her cup. “So, what's up? Ibuki can tell you're pretty messed up.” Aoi looked in her cup. “I talked to Toko again. Mentioned some stuff from Saturday. She reacted poorly.” Aoi took another sip and grimaced again. Ibuki shrugged. “How poor can poorly be? You're soulmates, after all.” Aoi took a larger drink before responding. “She said under no uncertain terms that she hates even the idea of soulmates. She's not into me.” Against her better judgement, she went back for a fourth sip from her cup before continuing. “She's not into girls.”

“Ibuki remembers you mentioning that, but before you were so much more certain you could win her over.” Aoi groaned. “Yeah and after our talk I'm a lot less certain.” She scooted back a little to lean against the bed. Sayaka glanced at her. “You okay?” Aoi nodded. “I'm fine. Probably. Just, y'know, really fucked up over this.” Sayaka sighed.

Aoi put her cup down on the table. It was mostly empty by this point. Ibuki leaned over and glanced in. “Well, you went through that faster than Ibuki was expecting.” She walked into the kitchen and got some water from the sink in a pitcher. On her way back, she grabbed another cup. She sat down, set down the new cup, and poured some water, then pushed it over to Aoi. “You're still new to this.” Aoi nodded and sipped some of the water.

The dark-skinned girl sighed. “I don't really know what I'm going to do. I've lived my whole life for this. She's the person I've wanted to meet for as long as I've known what love is. What do I do now?” Sayaka shrugged. “Move on. Find something else to live for.” She finally finished off the beer she had been drinking and moved onto the vodka Ibuki had poured for her. “You're good at swimming, yeah? Focus on that. Make it to the Olympics or something.” Aoi laughed a little. “Doesn't help me much these days. Too cold to swim often.” She checked her phone. “But practice is beginning on the… Seventh of next month, so I guess I should look forward to that.” Sayaka gestured at the brunette. “See? There you go.”

Ibuki finished her drink and went to refill it. “Hey Aoi, you want more?” She shrugged. “Sure.” She drank some more water as she passed her other cup back to Ibuki. “So when will I start feeling drunk?” Ibuki handed her back her cup. “Depends. Ibuki has no idea if you're a lightweight or not.” Sayaka chimed in. “You might not notice it at first if you're not familiar with the feeling.” Aoi nodded. She moved from her place leaning against the bed and blinked a little, clearly disoriented. “Huh.” Ibuki laughed. “Might already be happening.” Sayaka put her empty cup on the table and leaned back. “How  _ are _ you feeling right now?” Aoi thought for a second. “A little lightheaded, I guess.” The blue-haired girl nodded. “Maybe take the second cup a bit slower.”

Sayaka groaned. “I've really needed a night like this. We've been so busy lately. All of yesterday was spent recording demos in the studio and we have a live coming up at a venue bigger than anything we've done, which is stressful.” She took a big drink from her cup and continued. “Worst part is the new marketing the manager has been working on.” She set her cut down on the table and flopped backwards, leaving her staring at the ceiling. “He has merchandise based around our sentences being rolled out soon.” She sighed deeply. “Frankly, I'd just like to forget those words are there at all and go on with my life.”

Aoi thought for a second. “Y'know, I can't remember if you've ever told me what your sentence is before.” Sayaka responded with certainty. “I haven't. The only people who know it are ones who have seen it themselves.” Aoi moved towards the other girl. “Well, can I see it?” Sayaka turned and glared at her. “Do you even know where it is?” Aoi shook her head. “You've never talked much about this period. Sayaka propped herself up on one arm and pointed towards her hip, slightly to the right of the center. “There's a reason so few people have seen it.” Aoi sighed. “Fair enough. Mine was never in a particularly convenient place, but I guess it was better than that.” She lifted up her shirt and pointed to a patch of skin below the left breast. “Used to be here.” She looked down. “It's still weird that it's gone.” Ibuki spoke up. “Yeah, Ibuki can't imagine what it'll be like once hers is gone. Maybe she'll get a tattoo of it in its place.”

Aoi pouted and poked Sayaka's cheek. “I still want to know what yours says.” After Sayaka didn't respond, Aoi poked her cheek again. And again. Sayaka sighed. “Aoi, you know where it is, so you should know why I don't want to show it to you.” Aoi looked disappointed, but nodded and moved back to where she had been sitting.

“Ugh. I was hoping I could distract myself from Toko tonight, but this talk of soulmates just keeps reminding me of her.” She reached over to the table and picked up her cup. She took another sip and grimaced, before taking a second sip. “For fuck’s sake, I have two soulmates and I'm still going to die alone.” She took a big drink from her cup and set it down on the table. The other two girls stared at her and the three sat in silence until Aoi realized what she had just said. Her eyes got wide. She tried to stammer an explanation.

“Please forget I said anything! Just ignore that.” Ibuki shrugged. “‘Kay.” Sayaka smiled and faced the dark-skinned girl. “No, I'm definitely curious about this.” She set down her cup and moved closer to Aoi. “What did you mean when you said you have two soulmates?” Aoi shook her head and avoided looking Sayaka in the eyes. “It's nothing.” Sayaka laughed cruelly. “I can tell it isn't. This has to do with Toko, doesn't it? What am I saying, of course it does. But in that case, who's your other soulmate?” She backed off from Aoi a little bit. “I can tell you have no intention to tell me like this.” Aoi sighed. “Yeah, I don't. I promised not to tell anyone.” Sayaka sat down next to Aoi and faced her. “Well, you've already told us  _ something _ . So what if I went up to Toko and said ‘Aoi told me your secret.’?” Aoi looked mortified. Sayaka laughed. “Don't worry, though. You're my friend! I wouldn't do that.” She poked Aoi's cheek. “But I am still quite curious what you meant.” She leaned over to the table, grabbed her cup, and took another sip. “How's this? We both have secrets we want to hear from each other. So! I'll show you my sentence and you tell me what you meant when you said you have two soulmates. Sounds good?”

Aoi didn't respond right away. She reached for her cup of water and took a drink. Then, she sighed. “Fine. I've already told you enough that you could hurt me with it, so I might as well tell you the rest. But!” She turned to face Ibuki. “Neither of you are to talk about this with anyone outside of this room. Including Toko. Especially Toko.” Ibuki shrugged. “I don't particularly care either way, so that's fine.” Sayaka nodded. “I guarantee I'll do a better job at keeping this secret than you did.” Aoi nodded.

Sayaka stood up and started removing her pants. She slid down her underwear far enough for her sentence to be visible and no further. “ _ I'm sorry for my sister. She isn't usually like this. _ ” After Aoi had a chance to look at it, she quickly redressed and sat back down. “It's innocent enough, I suppose. Could be worse.” Aoi nodded. “I don't know what I was expecting, but that's way more mundane than I thought it would be.” Sayaka shrugged. “Your mistake was in assuming it was something to hide. I've made my opinion on soulmates clear before.”

She clapped. “But! Now that I've done that, it's your turn. What did you mean when you said you have two soulmates?” Aoi took another drink of water and breathed in deeply. “There's two Tokos.” The other girls remained confused. Ibuki chimed in. “What, like twins?” Aoi shook her head. “Nope. One body, two Tokos. There's the one everyone knows about, quiet and reserved. The other might as well be her opposite. For the sake of telling the two apart, I call her Syo. She's far more energetic and outgoing. She's the one I talked to on Saturday.” She trailed off, before remembering one more thing. “The one who rejected me today was Toko. As in, not Syo.”

Sayaka thought about Aoi's confession for a little bit before responding. “This is really fantastical, but… I doubt it's something you'd make up.” She went to take another drink from her cup and noticed it was empty. She stood up and walked into the kitchen. She shouted out to Aoi. “I'd ask if you want to try a beer, but given the state you're in, it's probably smart for you to stop now.” She took out a bottle and closed the fridge. “Next time.” She opened the bottle as she sat down and took a drink.

She pointed the bottle at Aoi. “So do you know that neither of them have interest in you? Is Syo straight too?” Aoi shook her head. “I don't think she minds.” Sayaka smiled and shook the other girl’s shoulder. “See? You still have a chance.” Aoi frowned. “I really don't know if I do. Toko sounded really certain…” Sayaka shrugged. “Toko is Toko and Syo is Syo.” Aoi considered that. “Maybe.”

As if remembering something, Sayaka pulled out her phone. “The name Syo reminds me of something one of the other girls in my group was telling me about yesterday.” She tapped away at the screen and when she had seemingly found what she was looking for, she turned the phone towards Aoi. On screen, the text read “Behind the Scenes on the Genocider Syo Case: Police Information About the Infamous Serial Killer” Aoi picked up the phone out of Sayaka's hand and scanned the article. “Apparently there's a pretty infamous serial killer who shares his name with your soulmate.” Aoi looked up from Sayaka's phone as Sayaka continued. “Pretty wild coincidence.” Aoi handed back the phone. “According to Aoba it's been an unsolvable case for a decade now.” Aoi took out her phone. “Can you send me that article? I want to try reading it in full later. I might bring it up to her next time we talk. She seems the type to find that hilarious.” Sayaka nodded, tapped her phone a few more times, then put it away. Aoi got the message from her. “Thanks.”

It was then the pair glanced back over at Ibuki. At some point in that exchange, she had fallen asleep. Aoi pointed. “That's… fine?” Sayaka waved dismissively. “Yeah. We pass out drunk in each other’s apartments all the time.” She yawned. “Speaking of.” She stood up and stumbled over to the bed. “You don't need to sleep on the floor if you don't want to.” Aoi looked at the bed. It wasn't particularly big. She shook her head. “Just toss me a pillow or something. I'll be fine on the floor.” Sayaka made an indifferent grunt and threw Aoi one of the pillows on the bed. Aoi grabbed her coat where she'd left it and used it as an improvised blanket. Despite how awake she had felt, within a couple minutes she was asleep.


	7. February 19th

The next morning, Aoi was the first to wake up. She checked her phone and saw that she was already late for her first class. She bolted up and grabbed her bag. As she left, she considered waking up the others, but decided against it. She left as quietly as she could and made her way to class. She stopped at a conbini on her way when she realized she hadn't eaten since lunch the day prior. She grabbed some donuts and a drink and ran towards campus. By the time she arrived, she decided it was late enough that she'd be cutting her losses and skipping her first class of the day. She sat down on a bench in the snowy quad and ate her breakfast. Since she grew up in sunny and warm Okinawa, she had initially been amazed when she saw her first snowfall. She hadn't even had a proper snowcoat. In the time since, she'd adjusted to it. It was still something unusual for her, but she wasn't constantly slipping whenever she stumbled across icy patches in the sidewalk.

Before long, it was nearly time for her next class. She threw away her trash and ran to her next class. It went by quickly. At some point, Sayaka texted her. “If you haven't yet, you should probably hydrate.” Aoi texted her back. “dw I carry a water bottle with me at all times.” Sayaka replied with a thumbs up emoji. Soon, class was over. Aoi moved onto her next class, which ended as quickly as the first. Then, her day was over. She returned to her dorm for the first time since the morning of the day prior. She collapsed in her bed, exhausted.

“Hey Kyoko.” The lavender-haired girl gave a quiet sound of acknowledgment. Aoi stood up and drew the curtain to change into more casual clothes. When she was done, she had on a pair of sweatpants as well as an oversized and well-worn blue shirt. She laid back down in bed and pulled up her phone. With little better to do, she decided to read over the article Sayaka had sent her the night prior. Given the title, she had expected it to be longer, but it seemed to be nothing more than a basic summary of the case. It wasn't particularly sensationalized, which meant the information was more likely to be accurate. Aoi sighed. She had hoped for more.

She rolled over in her bed and faced her roommate. “Hey Kyoko. You know about, like crime stuff, right?” The other girl turned to face her. “I'm a detective-in-training, if that's what you're asking.” Aoi nodded. “Yeah, that.” She sat herself up. “Can you tell me anything about the Genocider Syo case? A friend linked me to an article because I mentioned recently meeting someone named Syo and I read it and it left me curious about the rest of it.” Kyoko closed her laptop and turned to face the dark-skinned girl. “The Genocider Syo case is almost entirely an invention of the media. Yes these murders all happened, but like many serial killers, it's hard to judge all the victims and if they really relate to the case.” She sighed. “The facts that we know are about a decade ago, the killer began hunting down boys and young men and murdering them. Early cases are especially hard to connect to the case because that was before they had a consistent method of murder, as well as there only being two or three known in that period. About four or five years ago, however, their modus operandi changed and since then, their victims have died from being stabbed in the heart after being tortured.” Aoi shivered as Kyoko continued. “Unlike many other notable serial killers, there's been no communication between Genocider Syo and investigators. The name only first came up about 18 months ago when a news website decided to run a story on it. That led to a number of other websites running their own stories, with little fact checking. This led to a lot of misinformation being strewn about.” She stopped. “Is that enough for you?” Aoi stared at her roommate. That was the most she had said to her up to that point. What she had mentioned wasn't what Aoi had been asking about. “Is there anything else more about the case you know?” Kyoko opened up her laptop again and turned away from Aoi to face it. “Anything about the facts of the case I could tell you is things you could find in the numerous articles written about the subject. Check Wikipedia. I'm not your personal search engine.” She dived back into her work again. Aoi didn't pursue the topic further. Instead, she took Kyoko's advice and started doing her own research.

In her reading, she found more information, but as she quickly discovered, the first article did in fact have the most pressing information about the case. Aoi closed the browser on her phone and sighed. She had been hoping to be able to find more about this, but behind the sensationalism that Kyoko had mentioned, there wasn't much.

She turned around in bed and faced the window. Outside, the sun had set some time ago. Since she hadn't had dinner yet, Aoi decided to get dressed again and head to the dining hall. Campus was empty, but when she arrived, she found the dining hall packed full. She ate quickly, but rather than head immediately back to her dorm, she decided to take a short run around the school.

As she was finishing up and ready to turn in from the night, a voice called at her from behind. “Hey Aoi!” Aoi whipped around to face the voice and found herself right in front of her soulmate. Aoi shied away, avoiding looking her in the eyes. “Oh, hey Toko.” She kept her head down and started walking away. “Nah, she passed out a while ago. I got bored sitting around in our apartment, so I decided to take a walk.” Aoi stopped and responded without turning to face the other girl. “Oh. I, uh, can't tell you two apart. I thought you were her.” Syo laughed. “Yeah, I don't do much to make myself known.” She walked around Aoi and put her in the other girl's line of vision. 

“She told me about your conversation. Her side of it, at least.” Aoi turned her head again and Syo followed. “You probably have the idea that both of us hate you. That's just her thing. I don't mind you. I don't love you either, at least, yet. But either way, you aren't someone I take especial issue with.” Aoi nodded. “That's good to hear, I think…” She sighed again. Syo laughed. “Wow, she really hurt you, huh?” Aoi looked up at her as Syo continued. “I don't know what exactly she said, but try to ignore it.” She cackled. “That bitch’s words aren't worth much in the first place. It's a wonder she ever figured out how to sell them.”

Aoi didn't respond. Syo groaned. “Are you just gonna keep being this boring? Cause if so, I don't have much reason to stick around.” Aoi shook her head. “I think i just…” She trailed off. Syo gestured impatiently for her to continue. “I think I need space from you. Toko mostly, but you too.” She turned towards her dorm. “Not for anything you did. If you still want to talk to me, that's fine, but give me time to process everything. It's too overwhelming.” Without waiting for a response, Aoi resumed her run. Behind her, Syo gave a shrug of indifference and started walking the other way.


	8. March 3rd

The next couple weeks passed without note. Aoi tried to go about her daily life as normally as possible. She met up with Sayaka and Ibuki a number of times, but opted to focus her main effort on her academics. Every Monday, when math class came up, she would avoid looking at Toko. She would arrive shortly before class began and leave as soon as it ended. Toko was thankful for this. Syo, on the other hand, was biding her time.

It was mid-evening. Aoi was in her dorm reading some material that had been assigned for class when she got a text. Assuming it to be from Sayaka, she picked it up. “Hey Ms. Soulmate, it's me Syo. My birthday is tomorrow and I'd rather not be bored like usual so d'ya wanna hang out?” Aoi's breath caught. She stood up from her desk and walked over to her bed. She laid down and stared at her phone. A couple minutes later, another message popped up. “Read receipts are on. I know you saw it.” Aoi blinked a few times and started typing a response. Then she deleted the response and typed a new one. She repeated this several more times. After almost ten minutes of failing to respond, she dropped her head and sighed. She rolled herself on her back and held her phone above her face. She tapped a quick message out, “What did you have in mind?”, and turned her phone on mute, before placing it face down on the bed. She wanted to scream.

Several minutes later, she checked it again. Syo had responded. “I mean, idk. Dinner or something?” Aoi thought about it for a second before responding. “That sounds nice.” She stood up and started walking back to her desk when she received one last message. “So is it wrong to call this a date, then? lol”

The next day, Aoi found it very hard to pay attention in class. The pair had agreed to meet up after their last class ended and her mind kept drifting back to that. She struggled through and eventually the day was over. She stopped in her dorm to drop off some things and ran to the agreed meeting place. When she arrived, she saw Syo standing around looking bored. She waved to the girl to catch her attention and walked over. “Hey Ms. Soulmate.” She waved back. Aoi responded quietly. “Hey.”

For as much as she had been looking forward to this meeting, she was incredibly nervous. Her thoughts kept returning to her previous exchanges with Syo and Toko. Finally coming face to face with her again was almost too much for her and she found herself nearly unable to respond. She looked down, trying to avoid Syo's eyes. Syo grabbed her hand and Aoi's eyes got wide. “C'mon, let's go.” She started dragging the shorter girl behind her. “I already have a restaurant in mind.”

Aoi picked up her pace and caught up with the other girl. Syo led her a few blocks off campus to a small restaurant. The pair entered and Syo got them a table. Looking at the menu, Aoi found it to be a rather basic Japanese restaurant. The pair ordered quickly as Syo explained the choice. “Our apartment isn't too far from here. Ms. Morose never eats out and I usually do likewise, but on the rare occasion I do, I come here.” She shrugged and continued. “I suppose it isn't anything special, but I like it.” Aoi nodded.

Syo laughed at herself. “I guess I don't really know how to be acting on a date. First time for me.” Aoi smiled softly. “Yeah, I haven't been on a date either. I've been saving that for when I met my soulmate.” She paused. “Here we are, I guess.” She laughed lightly. The pair sat in silence for several minutes after that.

Hours later, Aoi was finally back at her dorm. She drew the curtain between her and Kyoko and collapsed in bed. She closed her eyes and covered her face with her arm in an attempt to block out the lights in the room. After a minute or two, her phone buzzed and she checked it. It was a message from Sayaka, responding to a conversation that had started while Aoi was walking back. “Sure, I can talk. What's up?” Aoi dialed her phone number and Sayaka picked up on the third ring.

“What happened?” Aoi's breath caught for a second, before she explained. “Today was Toko's birthday. Syo invited me out to dinner.” She stopped. Sayaka responded impatiently. “And?” Aoi groaned as she responded. “I said yes. And I went. Syo called it a date.” Sayaka took a few seconds to respond. “Huh. But isn't that a good thing? Aren't you in love with her? Isn't going out on a date with her desirable?” Aoi groaned again as she rolled over and rested her chin on her pillow.

“Of course I wanted this! That's why I went!” Her voice got quieter. “But calling this a date raises the question of what we are together and Toko has already made it clear she's not interested.” She groaned. “And when we got there, it was a disaster.” Sayaka inhaled. “Ah.” Aoi continued. “I couldn't figure out if I wanted to be there or not, let alone what to talk about.” Aoi struggled to not raise her voice too much. “Neither of us had been on a date before and it showed. We spent at least half the time not talking to each other.” Sayaka hesitated, before simply responding with, “Ah…”

Aoi sighed deeply. “I was so desperate for anything to talk about that I ended up trying to tell her about that serial killer you mentioned a few weeks ago. I thought it'd be a funny little conversation starter, but she reacted really poorly to it. Guess she doesn't find the coincidence in names particularly funny.” She sighs again. “I feel like I messed this up so much.”

“Well, it certainly sounds less than ideal… On the other hand, she cared enough to invite you. Toko isn't interested in you, but Syo might be. Worth keeping in mind.” Aoi groaned. “That doesn't make me feel all that much better.” She rolled back over onto her back. “If she's actually interested, then I just ruined my chances with her by being super awkward and comparing her to a serial killer.” Sayaka made a sound of indifference. “If she's into you, then she's not going to mind something like that. Maybe give her some space, but this shouldn't be anything that causes you despair.” 

“Yeah… You're right.” She let out a small laugh. “Thanks, Sayaka. That makes me feel a lot better about this.” Aoi sat up. “I should go. I have work to do, since swimming practice starts on Saturday and I want to have everything done by then.” The pair said their goodbyes and hung up. Aoi stood up and walked over to her desk and started working.


	9. March 7th

The rest of the week flew by. Between Aoi's dedication to her studies and the anticipation for upcoming swim practice, she had enough on her mind that she didn’t have time to think about her soulmates. Since both Sayaka and Ibuki had been busy with their own studies and their music, Aoi hadn't had any time to spend with them. As to not overwhelm herself, she spent time with other friends, but it was always short, fitting in the rare times she had extra time on her hands.

But then the week was over and it was Saturday. She met with her team at the campus indoor swimming pool. For many of them, it was the first time they had seen each other since practice had gone on hiatus for the winter. There was a short period of catching up before they began. The rest of the day was dedicated to easing the team back into practice. As all were dedicated athletes, they were neither out of practice nor out of shape. Nonetheless, the day out to be rather uneventful and before long, Aoi was back in the changing room.

While she was waiting for the showers to open up, one of the upperclassmen on a different team came up to her. She sat down on a bench next to her and greeted the swimmer. “Heya Aoi.” She looked up from her phone at the taller girl. “Oh, hey Akane.” She smiled. “Long time no see.” The other girl nodded. “Yup. How was your break?” Aoi thought about it for a second. “It was alright. Break was fine, but school since getting back has been rough.” Akane nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, I get what that can be like. Haven't even started tests yet and classes are kicking my ass.”

The gymnast leaned over. “Oh, hey, it's gone.” She poked Aoi's stomach between the halves of her swimsuit. Aoi batted Akane’s hand away and explained. “Ah, yeah. Finally met my soulmate. We share a math class together.” She crossed her arms and turned away. Akane laughed. “Congrats!” Aoi mumbled some thanks. Akane backed off. “What's wrong? I would've figured you'd be super enthusiastic about this. Finding your soulmate was all you ever talked about.” Aoi sighed. “Look, I don't really want to talk about it. It didn't go well. I've been asked about this by at least a dozen other people today.” She sighed again. Akane nodded. “Fine. I'll save this for another day.” Aoi shot her an exasperated glance. “Fine. I'll drop it.”

Rather than sit around awkwardly, Akane decided to get up and talk to someone else in the locker room. Aoi returned to talking to friends on her phone. Soon after, one of the showers opened up and she cleaned up. From there, she didn't linger and ran back to her dorm. She dropped her swim gear in her room and said hello to Kyoko before grabbing her purse and saying goodbye to Kyoko.

She left campus and headed to a nearby sports store. After her experience of being pestered all day, she opted to buy a new swimsuit. For as long as her mother had allowed her too, Aoi had worn a two-piece as a means of showing off her sentence. It had been something she had been proud to do and so she made sure everyone knew her purpose. However, now that her sentence was gone, she found the unwanted attention to be little more than a constant reminder of her awkward and uncomfortable situation with Toko and Syo. Aoi browsed for a short time before finding something that suited her. She checked out and left. As she left the building, she checked her phone again. She had a couple texts from friends. She read through them until she came across one from Sayaka. “I have the night off. Dinner?” Aoi hesitated before responding. “Sure. Where should we meet?” She sat down on a nearby bench while waiting for Sayaka to respond. Less than a minute later, her friend got back to her with the name of a nearby restaurant. Aoi sent back a message of affirmation and ran off.

The pair met at a small restaurant a ways off campus. Aoi entered and looked for Sayaka. She spotted the idol quickly and sat down across from her. She gave a playful wave as she greeted her friend. “Hey!.” Sayaka waved back. “Hey.” The two ordered dinner and immediately dived into conversation.

“So, I heard swim practice started again today?” Aoi shrugged. “Yeah. It was fun. I stopped by the pool a few times over break, but it's completely different to be there with everyone else.” The dark-skinned girl's expression changed and she sighed. Sayaka got inquisitive. “Oh? Why the sigh.” Aoi shook her head. “It's nothing. Had to buy a new swimsuit after practice.” Sayaka giggled. “Oh? Did the old one break? Sounds embarrassing.” Aoi shook her head. “Nah, the old one is fine. But it's a two-piece and I'm not really comfortable with that anymore.” The singer cocked her head in confusion, before realization hit her. “Ah. Okay.” Aoi nodded and gestured to her bag. “I have a one-piece in there.” Sayaka nodded back.

Aoi let out another sigh and changed topics. “So how have you been?” Sayaka rolled her eyes. “Fucking exhausted. We had our first live after the merchandise rollout last week and-” She cut herself and slid down in her seat. “I wish I could fucking kill that bastard for ever suggesting that merch line because it has brought nothing but hell upon my life.” She started rubbing her forehead. “I should be thankful that fuck didn’t mention  _ where _ my sentence is. Gross perverts yelling at me for hours while I have to keep a happy face is bad enough. I don’t need those same people trying to assault me while I’m leaving just for a picture.” She glared at the cup of water in front of her. “I really need a fucking drink.” She pulled out her phone and started typing away. That kept her distracted for a few seconds. When she was done, she looked up. “Sorry about that. I’m just really fucking done with this.” Aoi gave a compassionate smile. “I understand. Things can be rough.” The pair sighed.

After a short pause, Sayaka spoke up again. “At least I have tonight off.” She picked up a knife off the table and started fidgeting with it. Aoi responded. “Take what you get, yeah.” She glanced back at her bag. “Hopefully with this, practice tomorrow will be better.” Sayaka nodded. “I hope so too. I know things have been rough about that lately, so I can imagine what kind of issues that attention would bring.”

That conversation was swiftly cut off as the waitress brought them their dinner. Rather than return to the heavier subjects they had been talking about, they opted to focus on more frivolous things. 

“So, Aoi, have you actually checked out Ibuki's music?” The swimmer blushed. “Well… I've been meaning to… And I mean, she's played her demos in the car before…” Sayaka smiled and shook her head. “It's fine. I don't either. But she sent me a pre-release copy of that album she has coming out soon and she wants my opinion.” She set her elbows on the table and rested her head on her hands. “I have no fucking idea what to say about it. It's loud and abrasive and it hurts my head to listen to.” Aoi pulled out her phone. “Ibuki makes rock music, right?” Sayaka shrugged. “I guess. There's guitars and drums. She's said she doesn't like it being called that, but I can't tell the difference between rock, punk, or metal in the first place, so I'm convinced it's all just the same shit.” Aoi nodded, only half paying attention to the idol’s ramblings. “My brother is into rock music. He might like it, so maybe we could send it to him.” Sayaka nodded. “Sure. Why not. Can't imagine him having less to say than I would.” She picked up her phone and typed herself a reminder for later.

The conversation quickly moved on. “Hey Aoi, I don't really see you talk about music much.” Aoi nodded. “That's because I don't really listen to music.” Saya laughed. “And yet two of your closest friends are musicians.” Aoi laughed nervously. “Well… I don't know how close I'd say I am with Ibuki…” She paused. “But I get your point.” She poked at the remains of her dinner slowly. “I only met you through coincidence and I only met Ibuki through you. You two being musicians never felt like a big deal.” Sayaka smiled. “That's refreshing to hear given my line of work.” She cut herself off and laughed a little. “But still. You're friends with Ibuki, who does whatever the fuck that music is called, and me, who might just end up becoming a world-famous pop star.” Aoi looked up from her plate. “Glad to see fame doesn't need to go to your head for you to become vain.” Sayaka gave a cutesy smile. “Pop stars need a pop star attitude.” She dropped the smile. “But it's mostly just an act, you know?” Aoi nodded. “Yeah, I can tell. You're a good actor, though. Maybe if you ever get tired of pop music, you could go work on dramas.” Sayaka smiled, genuinely this time. “Maybe. Who knows.”

The two finished up and the blue-haired girl called for the check. They lingered a little longer and tied up the loose threads of conversation, but eventually, Aoi's weariness from the day began to wear her down. She excused herself and lightly jogged back to her dorm. As soon as she was back in her room, she collapsed in bed. She laid there for a couple more minutes before standing back up and getting ready for bed. By the time she was back in her dorm, Sayaka had messaged her a folder with the album she mentioned earlier. Aoi sent it to her brother with a short explanation of it, then turned off her laptop and got into bed. Within minutes, she was fast asleep.


	10. March 8th

Aoi woke up early the next day. She grabbed her swimming gear and her new swimsuit and headed off to the pool. She arrived before most of the others on her team and changed fast to ensure none of them would comment on her missing mark. With nothing else to do, she waited in the locker room. Slowly, teammates and girls from other sports trickled in. None commented on Aoi's new suit. Then, at the scheduled time, they walked out and practice began.

They took a break around noon. As Aoi stepped out of the pool, she noticed in the nearby bleachers, a familiar face. Against her best judgment, she walked over and greeted the sole audience member. “Hey Syo.” The still-sitting girl displayed an exaggerated expression of shock. “How did you know it was me?” Aoi sat down next to her and explained. “Toko wouldn't visit me like this.” She paused to take a drink from her water bottle. “I don't know why you're here, but I know you're the one who would do this. I don’t know a lot about her, but I know enough to know she’s a recluse and you have some sort of want to be around me.” Syo giggled. “Love, right?” Aoi’s eyes narrowed. “Is it?” 

“Certainly could be.” Aoi rolled her eyes. “Look, Syo. I’ve already gotten the impression of you as someone who’s trying to fuck with me.” At that, the girl wearing glasses sighed. “Am I really that obvious?” Aoi nodded. “Yeah.” At that, Syo leaned back in the bleachers. “I really thought I was doing a good job at playing you.” Aoi leaned back in a similar position. “I’m lovestruck, but I’m not an idiot.” The other girl turned to look at her. “So you still love us? Wasn’t sure, with how much you’ve been trying to avoid us.” Aoi silently nodded. Syo continued. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Aoi turned and looked Syo in the eyes. “You don’t love me back.” Syo was a little taken aback by that. “Is that a question?” Aoi shook her head. “No, it’s a statement. You don’t. I know this.” Syo sat up and stared at her soulmate. “And is this something you’re fine with?” Aoi shook her head again. “Not really. I hate this. But I doubt I can change your mind and I’m not going to try forcing Toko to love me.” Syo let her confusion show on her face. “And why are you telling me this?” Aoi shrugged as much as she could in her lying position. “You’re here. We don’t have much else to talk about. We don’t have common interests and I don’t exactly feel like talking to you as I would with Sayaka and Ibuki. All we have together is our bitter and strained relationship, so that’s what we talk about.”

“Y’know, Ms. Soulmate, you’re a very interesting person.” Aoi laughed. “Really? I don’t think so. I spent my life basing my entire personality around finding my soulmate. That’s happened and now I’m nothing.” Syo responded excitedly. “Exactly. I'm so used to the boys I meet being so full of life and personality, but here you are, a girl who's one personality trait only hurt her in the end, leaving her crushed and hopeless.” Aoi glared at Syo. “There's a lot to unpack there.” She started counting on her fingers. “One, this is the first I've heard you talk about your sexuality. Two, I think you see me as far more depressed about this than I am. Three, you taking my self-deprecation and throwing it back at me makes me realize just how inaccurate it is.” Syo finally turned around to properly face Aoi while still fitting up. She crossed her legs and leaned forward slightly. “Let me address these one by one, then. First, I’m bi. Boys catch my attention more, but rest assured the appeal of your large breasts is far from lost on me.” Aoi frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. “Second, I know perfectly well how depressed you are, but depression and hopelessness are two different things. You’ve said as much that you’ve given up on chasing Ms. Morose or I. You don’t need to be depressed to lose that direction in your life.” Without giving Aoi a chance to respond, she continued. “And that your self-deprecation is inaccurate only makes it funnier to me.” Aoi groaned. “Of all the people I could have fallen in love with at first sight…” She rolled her eyes. Syo just laughed and stayed quiet.

Aoi took that as an opportunity to make her leave. She stood up, said a quick goodbye, and hurried down the bleachers. As practice began anew, Syo stuck around for a few more minutes, but quickly found herself bored. With nothing else to do, she opted to leave. With nowhere else to be on a Sunday afternoon, Syo wandered campus. She found it to be mostly empty, so after a half hour of looking for anything or anyone to entertain herself, she left campus shortly after to stop at a convenience store and grab lunch. With that, she returned to her apartment.

Aoi, on the other hand, was busy with practice for several more hours. As soon as she was done, she hurried through the locker room and got herself out before anyone could start a conversation with her. She stopped by the school cafeteria and grabbed a late lunch before returning to her dorm. To her surprise, Kyoko wasn’t in at the moment. She put the food on the nightstand and dropped her bag on the floor. Despite her regular, laxed exercise during winter break, her junk food habits had gotten just enough out of shape that two days of straining exercise had left her exhausted. She hadn’t realized how exhausted she was until she was laying in bed. She took a minute to catch her breath before sitting up again. She reached over to the food she had brought back with her and as she did so, she started thinking about her conversation with Syo earlier. It hadn’t been long, but a lot had been said. She blushed. Syo mentioning she did in fact like girls was something that became stuck in her head.

“I still have a chance.”

“She complimented my breasts!”

“...It felt more like harassment.”

Aoi sighed. It felt like every time she interacted with that duo, her bittersweet emotions grew more complicated. Even so, she knew that kind of comment wasn’t something she was comfortable with. She made a mental note to bring it up to her the next time the pair talked. At this point, she was confident they would talk again. She blinked and refocused herself. 

At some point while she was thinking about that interaction, Kyoko had returned. Aoi was surprised at how quiet the detective-in-training’s entrance had been, but she shrugged it off. Her roommate was quiet in most regards.

She started thinking forward. Tomorrow would be yet another class with Toko. It would probably be yet another week gone by without reaching out to her. At least she had been given the chance to talk to Syo at swim practice. Spring break would start soon and if Aoi didn't get a chance to talk to Toko before then, it could end up being over a month before she would get an opportunity to speak to either of them again. She sat up, full of resolve. She started making plans for the next day to talk to her after class.

That gave her a peace of mind. With that anxiety dealt with, she finally started eating.

When she was done, she stood up and stretched a little, then sat down at her desk. With midterms quickly approaching and practice as a distraction, she would have to try even harder. Studying never came easy to her, but with enough effort, she would be able to pass. By the time she was done, she was exhausted. Checking a clock, she judged it to be late enough and got ready for bed.


	11. March 9th

Aoi took a deep breath as she stood outside the door to class. “You can do this,” she thought to herself. She exhaled and opened the door. She had arrived early and the class was still mostly empty. There were a couple students at the front of the room talking to the teacher, but besides that, there was only one other person, sitting at her desk in the middle of the room. Aoi took another deep breath and walked to her desk next to the girl.

“Hey Toko.”

The girl with twintails silently glared at Aoi. Nervously, Aoi waved. When Toko continued not responding, Aoi spoke up again. “We haven’t really talked in a while and I was thinking maybe we should because you’re my sou-” Toko grumbled under her breath and faced away from Aoi. “Right. Sorry.” Aoi sighed.

“Look, can we talk? I’ve been trying to do this for weeks now and the best I’ve been able to get is Syo.” Toko turned and snarled a response. “She didn’t tell me she’d talked to you again.”

“Oh.”

Aoi’s eyes grew wide and she began to second guess what she had just said. Toko groaned and glared at Aoi. “What exactly has she been doing with you, if you don’t mind telling me?” Toko has an angry expression on her face, one that made Aoi uncomfortable. Aoi tried to respond, but she tripped over her words and found herself unable to speak. Clearly more irritated, Toko repeated herself. “What has Syo been doing with you?” Aoi finally managed to speak and gave a short response. “We’ve met twice since class last week. Both times were her prompting.”

Toko pulled out a notebook and quickly wrote a few sentences, before setting it down and turning back to Aoi. “Continue.”

“Well, last week, in the evening, she sent me a text about it being your birthday. Wait, that wasn’t a lie, was it?” Toko shook her head. “No, she didn’t lie to you. It was our birthday, although we hadn’t agreed beforehand who would deal with it. When I woke up on Wednesday, I expected that she’d spent the day alone like she always does.” She picked her pen back up and gestured to Aoi. “What  _ did _ she do?” Aoi squirmed in her seat. “Well… She asked me out to dinner. It was admittedly pretty awkward, since we didn’t have much to talk about…” She trailed off as Toko wrote more in her notebook. Once she was done, she looked back up at Aoi. “Continue.” Aoi nodded. “Well, the dinner was awkward, but afterwards we both left and went our separate ways. I wasn’t expecting to see her again for a while, since we hadn’t talked in weeks by that point, but yesterday when I was at swim practice, she stopped and watched. During one of the breaks I got, we talked a little and cleared up some hanging stuff between us. Doubt you care about that, though.” Toko shook her head. “You're right. I only care about the broad strokes. Keep the rest to yourself.”

She wrote a few more notes before recapping her pen and setting down her notebook. “From your tone, I assume that was all?” Aoi nodded.

Toko turned away from her soulmate and picked up a novel she had laying there. She had been reading it before Aoi started talking to her and now that the conversation was over, she returned to her reading. Aoi frowned, but rather than try to force a conversation further, she pulled out her phone and started texting her friends. A few minutes later, other students began filling in and soon after that, class began.

Afterwards, Aoi lingered until Toko was leaving. She followed her soulmate out of the classroom and outside into the crisp late winter air. Toko clearly noticed the shorter girl, but she ignored her, instead opting to walk home without talking to her. The two continued like that until they reached a crosswalk where they had to wait. With nothing to do but stand around, Aoi took her chance.

“Is there a reason you don't like me?” Toko turned and glared at her. “Yes. There are many. You're loud, you're obnoxious, you're irritating. Despite my attempts for a month and a half now to make you leave me alone, you still continue to pester me as if I'm ever going to reciprocate your feelings. You know I won't, so why do you keep trying?” She jabbed a finger in Aoi's direction. “Just leave me the fuck alone.”

Aoi hung her head in resignation. “Toko, at this point, I've given up on you. I know you aren't going to fall in love with me. It's unfortunate that I still have feelings for you, but I'm not trying to bother you for a date or anything like that at this point.” Toko's face twisted in a mix of confusion in irritation. “If you aren't talking to me because I'm your soulmate, then why are you wasting your time on me?”

“Well, it is because you're my soulmate. Because I love you. But I can accept that you won't love me and I can find other ways to spend time with you. If we can't date, then I'd hope we could at least be friends.” Aoi smiled meekly. Toko scowled back. “I don't need friends any more than I want you as a romantic partner. I live a reclusive life which suits me. I don't need any more than that. You have my lesser half to play with; Can't that be enough for you?”

By this point, the light the pair was waiting for had come and gone and come again. Without saying another word, Toko turned away and crossed. Aoi didn't follow her.


	12. March 27th

Aoi collapsed in bed. She had no idea how her grades would turn out, but she hoped all the studying she had been doing would pay off. She groaned and turned around. Her side of the room was cleaner than it had been since she first moved. Students at her university didn't need to leave during the shorter breaks, but were encouraged to leave during spring break all the same. And so, Aoi decided to fly home for the break. Her friends in Tokyo would either be busy or on trips on their own. While she didn't need to bring everything home over break, what she did end up packing proved to do a great job at cleaning things.

“Hey Kyoko?” Aoi called out to her roommate. Kyoko's eyes flickered over to the swimmer and quickly back to her book. Aoi continued, “I was planning to go out to dinner with a friend tonight, since we won't be seeing each other until break is over, and, well, I was wondering if you wanted to come along.” Kyoko's eyes landed on Aoi again and this time they stayed. However, she stayed silent, waiting for Aoi's explanation. “Well, I never see you go out and I was wondering if that was because you don't have friends to go out with.” 

Kyoko eyed the dark-skinned girl before responding. “You're right that I don't have friends, but that's not the tragedy you're making it out to be. I'm fine this way.” Aoi frowned. “You might be fine with this, but I'm not.” She stood up and walked over to Kyoko's bed. “You should go! It'll be just this once before break and we don't see each other again for a week.” Kyoko rolled her eyes, but sat up. “Fine.” Aoi squealed with happiness as Kyoko continued, “I know you won't stop bothering me unless I do. It's the more painless option.”

Aoi stared at her. “I mean… If you really don't want to, you don't…” Kyoko shook her head. “No, no. It's as you said. I should get out more often.” She stood up and started getting ready. “When are the plans you mentioned for?” Aoi hurried over to her bed and checked her phone. “I was told to meet Sayaka at seven, so I was going to be leaving soon.”

Kyoko finished putting on the top layer of her outfit and started walking towards the door. “We can be there early, then.” Aoi was taken aback by the sudden shift in behavior. “Oh, uh. Okay.” She hurried to finish getting dressed and followed the taller girl. She caught up and started leading her to their destination. As they walked, Aoi sent a message to Sayaka, updating her on the situation. “Invited my roommate on a whim. She said yes. It was unexpected, but dinner for three, I guess.” Sayaka quickly responded, “Oh. Isn't she a recluse??? idk. if you're okay with it, I'm fine.”

The pair arrived at the restaurant. Aoi quickly looked around to find Sayaka and once she did, they sat down. Aoi smiled and waved at the blue-haired girl. Sayaka waved back. The two exchanged quick greetings before Sayaka turned to face Kyoko.

“So! You're Kyoko, huh?” Rather than respond verbally, the violet-haired woman nodded slightly. Sayaka laughed. “Aoi's talked about you before, but I didn't expect I'd see you in person.” Kyoko smirked. “Interesting.”

The trio paused conversation to order, then picked up where they left off. “So, Kyoko, I gotta say, you don't dress like a recluse. You'll have to let me know where you shop later, because this stuff is pretty great.” Kyoko shrugged softly. “I dress this way for myself. That others see this as something nice is trivial next to that.” Sayaka nodded. “Sure, sure, but like, that jacket, that miniskirt, that top, those boots, and it's all so well coordinated, too. I can't imagine any of this was cheap.” She paused, then gestured towards Kyoko's hands. “Plus those gloves, they're just great.” 

Suddenly, Kyoko pulled her hands away and tucked them under the table. She stared intensely at Sayaka. Sayaka glanced around nervously, before exhaling. “Ooookay. Don't talk about the hands, got it.”

She backtracked the conversation a bit. “I'd love to talk to you about your outfits more. You clearly have a great eye for fashion. Is that your major?” Kyoko shook her head. “No. I simply choose outfits I like. I have no especial draw to fashion. My major is in criminal psychology. After graduation, I'll be an independent detective with a family agency. It runs in the blood.”

Aoi spoke up. “It's super cool! Like something out of a light novel.” Sayaka laughed. “Yeah, isn't there some ongoing series about a detective named Kyoko?”

Kyoko groaned quietly and rubbed the bridge of her eyes. Aoi laughed nervously. “Is that not a comparison you like?” Kyoko shook her head. “As you might imagine, a class of aspiring detectives will be full of people who are fans of detective literature, especially in a first-year course. Suffice to say, I have heard people reference that series numerous times more than would have ever wished to hear it.” Her mouth, to this point neutral, shifted down, slightly.

Sayaka leaned back in her seat. “Zero for two so far on conversation starters so far…” She sighed. She took a sip of water from her glass and gestured to Aoi, implying she should try to start a conversation. Aoi stuttered, trying to say anything.

“So, Kyoko, what is, uh, what's your soulmate sentence?” From across the table, Sayaka slid down in her seat. She had assumed that Aoi would know Kyoko better and thus be able to make conversation with her better. She hadn't anticipated how little the two roommates had spoken in their seven months of living together. 

Kyoko replied. “Which one?” Both Aoi and Sayaka blinked several times. They stared at the straightfaced girl, as if expecting a response. When nothing of the sort came, Aoi spoke up. “What do you mean, ‘Which one?’ The sentence that your soulmate is going to say? Gold lettering, impossible to remove, all that stuff?” Kyoko nodded. “Yes, I'm aware of what you're talking about. I struggle to believe anyone could live as long as any of us have without having at least some experience with the concept. Which one are you asking me about?” Out of the corner of her eye, Sayaka glanced at Aoi, hoping for some kind of explanation. Aoi glanced back, as if to say she was as clueless as the idol.

The trio’s awkward moment was interrupted by their food arriving. They started picking at their food, but Aoi and Sayaka's attention was still drawn to Kyoko's offhand statement.

“So, Kyoko. Do you mind explaining what you meant by ‘Which one?’” Sayaka tried bringing it up first. Kyoko shrugged and, between small bites of food, answered, “I was asking which one Aoi was asking about. I feel this is rather self-explanatory.” Aoi had a thought and asked Kyoko, “So do you… Do you have more than one sentence?” Kyoko nodded lightly. “That could indeed be taken as the implication of what I said, yes.”

Aoi stammered a response. “Well, that's- That's, uh…” She took a deep sigh and tried again. “That's amazing. I'm so jealous of you.” Kyoko shook her head. “Trust me, it's more of a bother than you would think.” Sayaka gestured at her gloves, to which Kyoko pulled back a little. She nodded. “That is the reason I wear gloves, yes. This sort of thing attracts far more attention than I have ever wanted in my life.”

Aoi thought for a second. “So then… You have two soulmates?” Kyoko shrugged. “I don't know. But there are two sentences. Maybe my soulmate will say both of them. I don't particularly care. Maybe he-” She cut corrected herself, “They will be someone capable of completely sweeping me off my feet and making me swoon, but in my life I've never particularly found myself attracted to people, so I doubt any man could truly win me over.”

Sayaka snickered. “I mean, same.” She smiled wryly. “If I had to guess, that doubt comes from the same place as mine did.” Kyoko blinked and cocked her head quizzically. Rather than explain, Sayaka just laughed. Picking up on the implication, Aoi rolled her eyes, leaned over, and punched Sayaka in the shoulder.

For Kyoko's sake, Aoi changed the conversation. “So! How are you two going to spend your break?” Sayaka groaned. “Work. Though no worse than usual because not everyone in my break has time off at the same time, so I will be getting an actual break during this. I will spend every free second I have fast asleep, if possible.” She stretched her back a little. “Work hasn't been especially bad lately, but I'm just waiting for my manager to drop some bullshit on us like a week of nightly lives.” She slumped down on the table. “God, I'm so fucking tired.”

Rather than linger on the bitter idol, Aoi turned to Kyoko. “And what about you?” Kyoko shrugged. “I'm staying in the area. A cousin of mine in high school and I will be interning at the family agency for the week, in order to give us some firsthand experience. I did something similar last year. I'm looking forward to it.” Aoi smiled. “I'm glad.”

Not much later, Aoi checked the time and noticed how late it was. She threw some cash on the table and said goodbye to the other two girls. She returned to her dorm and quickly got ready for bed. Her flight would be leaving in the morning and she wanted to be ready for it. By the time Kyoko returned to the small room, she was already asleep.


	13. April 5th

Aoi's flight got in midday. After spending a week back home in Okinawa, she was back in Tokyo. Class would begin the next day and life would go on. If possible, she would try to talk to Toko, and if she found it in her, she would accept talking to Syo. But before then, she had one more plan for break.

She stopped by her dorm and dropped off her travel bag. She said a quick greeting to Kyoko before leaving again. She ran to her destination and she soon arrived. She took a few seconds to catch her breath before knocking on the door. After a short pause, she heard movement from inside, followed by the sound of the door unlocking. It swung open and Aoi was brought face to face with Sayaka. The idol looked disheveled, her hair tangled and untamed. The dye was beginning to show as her roots were beginning to be visible at the top. She smiled and waved at the shorter girl. “Hey. Glad you could make it.” She waved the shorter girl in.

Aoi walked over to the table in the center of the main room and sat down. She exhaled sharply and smiled at Ibuki, who sat next to her. In the kitchen, Sayaka was rooting around in the fridge. She called out. “Hey Aoi, you gonna want anything to drink, or just water.” Aoi shook her head then realized Sayaka couldn't see her. “Water is fine.”

“‘Kay.”

Sayaka finished in the kitchen and walked over to the table. She put down a number of bottles and a pair of cups. She dropped to the ground and leaned against her bed.

With things finally in place, Aoi took a second to look at her companions for the night. Ibuki looked, well, as colorful as ever. Her trip over break didn't seem to do much to that. She was dressed as she usually did, complete with yet another shirt for a band Aoi had never heard of and she was laying on the floor, head resting on a pillow. Sayaka, on the other hand, looked very different from usual. Her messy hair in need of new dye was only the start. Aoi could tell just how little the idol had done for herself over the week. Rather than some sort of fashionable outfit like she usually wore, Sayaka was sitting there in a tattered pair of shorts and an oversized tee shirt. Aoi decided to not comment on her appearance.

Sayaka opened one of the bottles on the table and started drinking. When no one else spoke up, Ibuki started the conversation. “Well, who wants to go first?” Sayaka shrugged. “I don't care. My week was uneventful so either of you can go first.” The other two girls looked at each other. Aoi gave a look of indifference. “My week was also pretty mellow.” Ibuki propped herself up on one arm and waved excitedly. “Ibuki can start! She had a very exhausting break!” She put a finger up to her chin. “Wasn't much of a break, now that Ibuki thinks about it.”

She set her other arm behind her and leaned her head back. “Well, Ibuki flew to America on Saturday. Long flight. There she and her band met up with the act that was gonna be the opener for the tour. They had no time to waste! We got to a hotel really quickly and by that point it was late. Ibuki didn't do much that day. The next day was fun, though!” She sat up and poured herself a drink while she caught her breath. She took a sip and continued, “Our show was in the evening, so Ibuki and some of her bandmates spent the day going around the city. San Francisco is more similar to Tokyo than Ibuki expected!” She took another drink. “The show was hella fun, too.” She laughed to herself while Aoi and Sayaka stared at her in confusion as to what she was laughing about. Without explaining, Ibuki kept talking. “A band from a bit north of the city was also playing with them, which was so fun! Meeting them in person was such an overwhelming experience for Ibuki! Then the next day we just stayed around the venue and practiced. The show that night was fun, ‘specially cause the drummer from the visiting band played with Ibuki's band!” Aoi nodded. “I… kinda get what you're talking about.” Sayaka groaned. “God, I wish I could have the enthusiasm for live music that you do.” Both musicians took a drink together. “Ibuki loves live music! Maybe she should bring you out to a show sometime.” Sayaka grimaced. “I've heard your music. I'd rather not.” Ibuki shrugged. “Well, Ibuki's got a show to celebrate her new album coming out in a bit so maybe you two could come.” Aoi and Sayaka exchanged a glance. Aoi laughed nervously. “Yeah… Maybe…” Rather than respond, Sayaka took another drink from her bottle. Ibuki shrugged. “Offer’s open.”

When neither girl had a follow-up, Ibuki continued her story. “So they finished the shows in San Francisco and started heading south. Spent a day on travel and got to see California. Ibuki thinks it's a gorgeous state. They arrived in L.A. that night and played a string of shows over the next few nights. The show on Friday was in San Diego, which wasn't far enough to justify traveling. After that show, Ibuki and her band went out into the desert and did a ton of drugs. Then the next day it was travel and the flight was long and now she's back here.”

“Well that certainly sounds exciting.” Sayaka replied, sarcastically. “Ibuki found it all very fun! She definitely wants to go back to America at some point for another tour because the audiences were wild!” Aoi sighed and Ibuki shrugged in response. Rather than push the topic, Aoi didn't pursue it further. Instead, she addressed another part of what Ibuki had said. “What was that about doing drugs in the desert?” Ibuki laughed. “Oh yeah! Ibuki and some friends went out with the opening act and did LSD. It was really fun, Ibuki recommends.”

Sayaka shook her head. “I get by just fine getting drunk.” As if to prove a point, she took another sip of beer. Aoi shrugged. “I'm not even that much a fan of alcohol. I can't see myself ever trying anything like LSD.” Ibuki by now had returned to laying on the floor. “Your loss.”

Aoi thought for a second. “Do you even speak English, Ibuki?” The punk raised her hand and held it flat. “She speaks some. Her bandmates are more fluent and the touring band could speak Japanese enough to keep any problems from happening.” Aoi shrugged. “Fair enough.”

Ibuki let out an exhausted sigh. “Well, that's Ibuki's story. Who's next?” Aoi took a drink from her cup and offered. “I can go. My story won't be as exciting, but I guess things still happened. Most exciting is I finally accomplished a swimming goal of mine I've had for years. Near my home island, about five miles out, is another island, a bit larger than the one I grew up on. For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to try swimming between them. It's five miles, but for a young swimmer that can be a lot. I've actually been able to make the trip one way since last year, but my goal was making it back and this last week was the first time I did that successfully.”

Ibuki sat up and clapped. “Oh that's so impressive.” Aoi blushed. “Well, I mean, it's just ten miles. I even had a break in the middle.” She laughed. “And every time I've tried it my mom has insisted on sending my brother out on a boat to stick near me in case I start drowning.” She rolled her eyes. “I get her concern but it really does feel like her attempt to baby me.” Sayaka laughed. “That's a funny complaint coming from you, Miss Sober On Drinking Night.” Without getting up, Ibuki replied. “Aoi is easily one of Ibuki's most straightedge friends.” Aoi frowned. “Don't call me straight.” Sayaka leaned over. “I thought you were into guys?” Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. Aoi blushed harder. “I wouldn't have been opposed to my soulmate being a guy but that doesn't mean I'm straight.”

Rather than respond, Sayaka just laughed. Ignoring her, Aoi finished her story. “Other than that, I just hung around the house and spent time with my mom and brother. Okinawa is a lot more laid back than Tokyo and I just wanted to spend the week taking that in before I had to leave again.”

Sayaka nodded. “Guess it's my turn, then.” She picked up her bottle and finished the rest at once. She put it back and picked up another bottle, then opened it, and started drinking it immediately. She finished half the bottle before setting it down and sighing deeply. She leaned back and closed her eyes while leaning her head up. She started rubbing the bridge of her eyes and slowly dragged her hand down her face. She leaned over to the table and picked up the bottle again, drinking a third of what was left. When she was done with that, she finally spoke. “But besides work, it was alright, I guess. I spent most of it asleep.” She gestured downwards. “There's a reason I look like this. Manager thankfully gave us half the week off, so I haven't left my apartment once since our last live.”

Aoi shrugged. “You don't always need to look one hundred percent. It's fine to slip a little for the sake of self-care.” Sayaka rolled her eyes. “I don't really care about that. I was just fucking tired. And! Granted, half a week of constant sleep did help.” She glanced over towards a nearby mirror. “I am gonna need to do something about my hair before I go to class next.” She shrugged indifferently. “I'm already skipping school tomorrow. Gonna try and spend the time cleaning myself up.” She looked back in the mirror. “God, I look like shit” Aoi shrugged kindly. “You look fine.” Sayaka eyed the swimmer and rolled her eyes. “Sorry, but I'm not exactly going to take your opinion on fashion seriously.” Aoi smiled weakly. “I guess. Was just trying to help.”

From there, the conversation slowly died off. Ibuki had passed out on the floor from exhaustion at some point. Aoi opted to leave rather than stay the night. She said goodnight to the disheveled idol as she had already started cleaning up. She hurried back to her dorm. By the time she arrived, the room was dark and Kyoko was already asleep. She only emptied the essentials out of her bag and quickly got ready for bed. Before long, she was asleep, her last thoughts lingering on what tomorrow would bring.


	14. April 6th

Aoi got up early the next day. She didn’t have class for another several hours, so she took the time to unpack and get ready for class. She left and the day was uneventful. Classes came and went and during breaks, she met up with friends to catch up on what happened during break. But soon, it was time for her to see Toko again.

Aoi decided to show up to class closer to when the bell would ring. After too many awkward conversations before class, she was done forcing that on herself. She arrived as most of the class was and rather than have to walk past Toko to get to her seat, she walked to the other side of the room and entered the row from there. If the surly author noticed Aoi sitting down next to her, she didn't show it. She was busy writing in a notebook. Aoi thought about asking questions about that, but opted for silence. The teacher called out soon after and class began.

After, Aoi sat around. She glanced at Toko out the side of her eye, but to Aoi's disappointment, Toko continued to ignore her. She sighed. That prompted Toko to turn and glare at her. “Why?” Aoi stared. “I… don't know how to answer that, because I don't know what you're asking.” Toko groaned. “Why are you still here?” Aoi frowned. “You should know that by now.”

Toko finished packing up her bag. “And you should know by now that I don't want to see you.” Aoi's eyes dropped briefly, but she recovered quickly. “Yeah, well, I'm not planning to stop any time soon.” Toko scowled and started walking away. “That's harassment. I could report you for this.” Aoi sighed and started following the surly girl. “Look, I only have one thing I wanted to bring up. Let me talk about that and then I'll leave you alone. I'll leave you alone for two weeks, even.” Toko glared, but nonetheless relented. “Fine. Say what you must and then I'll leave and you won't follow me.” Aoi nodded.

Aoi fidgeted for a second while she tried to find the way to say what she wanted. “I, uh… Over break…” She sighed and dug into her bag. She pulled out a small novel and pointed to it. “I read this over break. It's good.” Toko's scowl deepened as her eyes grew wide. The book in Aoi's hands was one of Toko's.

Aoi laughed nervously. “I'm- Well, I'm not much of a reader and I've been struggling to get through this for months now, but I finished it! I really enjoyed it!” Toko didn't respond, but her eyes under her glasses returned to their normal sullen look. “I'm surprised a cretin like you can even read.” Aoi frowned. “Of course I can read! I mean, I have trouble with it, but a lot of it is how busy with school I've been.” She shifted her pose slightly, still holding out the book. “But when I say I liked it, I mean it! You're a great writer and I can see why people praise you so much. I can't promise I'll get to them anytime soon, but I want to read your other books, too!” Toko's scowl softened into a frown.

Aoi found herself unable to judge Toko's mood. The sullen author was clearly taken aback. Aoi took this as a sign she should continue. “I haven't read many romance novels, but I absolutely love romance films and I've seen a ton so I could really appreciate this. The way the two leads grew together was so satisfying and I almost cheered at the end when they got together. And a world without soulmates is so interesting! That people can fall in love with whoever they want is just… I love it!” She was struggling to keep her voice down.

Toko, on the other hand, was struggling to maintain her frown. Her face was returning to a neutral position, the closest she had to a happy expression. Aoi could tell what this meant. “Toko, I really love your writing, just as much as I love you, and I would love to talk about this with you.”

Toko stared at Aoi. The two held eye contact for several minutes more as they stood in silence, Aoi's proposal hanging in the air. Aoi had nothing to add to her statement and Toko had no response.

Toko broke the stare first. She turned and started walking away. “Maybe some other day. I have a deadline coming up. I can't waste my time standing here talking, especially to you.” Aoi didn't respond, instead opting to let her go. She was happy enough with what response she had gotten. With her soulmate’s words ringing through her head, she returned to her dorm.

She collapsed in bed like always, but rather than start studying like had become her new normal, she dug the book from her bag out and returned it to her desk. She then spent a couple minutes trying to grab the other book off her desk. Eventually, she succeeded. With it in hand, she laid back and opened the small novel. She started reading. However, even with her resolve emboldened by the interaction with Toko just minutes before, she found it difficult to push through the novel. Slightly defeated, she called it quits after little less than a chapter. She set the book down and stood up. It was a bit early for dinner, but she had little else to do, so she decided to head out to the dining hall. By the time she returned, Kyoko was back and hidden behind the curtain. Aoi shrugged and started working on the homework that had been assigned that day, hoping to be done early. It hadn't been an exhausting day, but it had been more tiring than she had realized. Hours later, and hours earlier than she usually went to bed, she was done. She hurried to get ready for bed and was soon unconscious.


	15. April 11th

“I still have no fucking idea how you talked me into this.” Sayaka glared at the energetic musician. “Is it because you're Ibuki's friend and you are about her a lot?” Sayaka shook her head. “Obviously not. ”Ibuki laughed. “Well, you're here anyway!” Aoi smiled nervously. “This place looks… nice.”

It didn't. The venue the trio stood in was clearly worse for wear. The floor was hard concrete and the walls were unpainted, instead covered in thousands of stickers left by bands that had come through on tour. The layout of the venue was simple. At the back, an entrance, and nearby a small table, set up as a merchandise display for the band's that would begin playing soon. The soundboard in the back across from the door on a small elevated platform. Towards the front was a stage where the rest of Ibuki's band was setting things up. Otherwise, it was a barren room. Each side of the room had a battered couch along the wall for seating, but otherwise it was standing room only.

“I'll give it this, my group has done lives at worse.” Sayaka eyed the venue. “This place is up to code and I don't  _ think _ I need to worry about the ceiling caving in.” She glanced up. “Probably.” Ibuki laughed. “No, this place is great! Ibuki's played here a ton of times.” Aoi's eyes scanned across the building. It was far from the type of place she typically spent time in.

One of the men on stage yelled over to Ibuki. “Sorry, gotta finish setting up. Talk to you later!” She hurried off to the stage. The two remaining girls looked at each other and decided to sit down on one of the couches. With little else to do, they took out their phones and started killing time. Slowly, a crowd started developing in the venue. Before long, the opening act began, a loud and noisy duo consisting of a drummer and a guitarist. At the time they started, the crowd was still trickling in, but by the time they were done, the room was full and excited. After a short break between acts, Ibuki's band came on.

Ibuki leapt onto stage after them. “Heyyyyy what's fucking UP!” Her energy in front of the crowd came as a shock to her two friends off to the side. While she was always energetic, she was more often flighty. Here, she was focused and intentful. On the stage, she continued her introduction. “We're The Hospital Bombers, but if you're at this show tonight you probably already fucking know who we are so I don't need to let this introduction go any further. Let's fucking GO!” At her command, the band lurched into action.

They made the opening act seem like light rock. A barrage of guitar noise and heavy drum beats consumed the venue. The opening track lasted for little over a minute before the band moved onto something new, another similarly-lengthed track, then another and so on. Finishing the pentalogy and without missing a beat, moved onto a longer number. It exchanged the hurried aggression of their openers for a punishing, heavy harshness. As that number ended, the band didn't quite stop, but started a mellow jam as Ibuki addressed the audience. 

“So how are we fucking doing tonight?” The crowd cheered in response and she continued, “So that was some older material, but that's not what we're here for, are we?” She was met with another cheer and rather than make another response, the band dropped into another song. For Aoi and Sayaka, it was little more than noise, but the mass of standing bodies was into it. The song utilized delay pedals and arrhythmic drumming to create an unsettling atmosphere. As the song grew to a close, the band slowed down and as they transitioned into their next track, Ibuki stepped away. For the next ten minutes, the band performed a droning improvisation that was no less heavy than the rest of the rest of the set. 

That song didn't so much end as it slowly picked up tempo until it had become a different song despite the similarities in the music. Ibuki leapt back at the mic and let loose a deluge of incomprehensible screaming. If any of it involved real words, her two friends would've been unable to tell. That song continued for a number of minutes, but eventually started trailing off. The mellow style of instrumental jam returned as Ibuki addressed the audience once more. “So how about that, huh?” Another cheer. The multi-colored guitarist wiped sweat from her brow as she continued her banter. “I hope you won't be disappointed when you listen to the album and find out those songs are half as short as we just played them, but unfortunately we just had so many songs we wanted on there and not enough space to play them all like this. That said, let's go for one more!” Ibuki picked her guitar back up and let loose a rending, harsh string of notes. At first, only the drummer in the back accompanied her, but as the song stretched towards the five minute mark, the bassist joined in, and after another four minutes, the other guitarist. By the time the track came to a close, it was an unrelenting cacophony.

“Okay we only have time for one more short one, but we're going to make this fucking  _ count. _ ” The band's last song hit hard. For the first time all night, Ibuki's voice rang out clearly and her lyrics could be understood. It was quickly obvious why, with serious and clearly personal lyrics. Despite her issues with the song it was attached to, Aoi still found herself moved. The song came to an end and the crowd erupted into cheers. The band stayed on stage through that, and as the crowd calmed. “So we're doing an encore, but truth be told I've always found the way that some bands will walk off stage and just leave people hanging to be so rude, so we're not bothering with that.” Without giving the crowd a chance to react, the band began their true final song. Practically a wall of guitar noise given shape by the pounding, sludgy drum beat. It continued for a full seventeen minutes, but once it ended, the band immediately left the stage, followed by a roar from the crowd. Ibuki walked over to where her friends were and sat down next to them, already back to her usual bubbly self.

“So! What did you think of Ibuki's band?” The two girls stammered for a response. Aoi went first. “Well… You have a lot of energy. You were very interesting to watch. I didn't like the music, but I can say I got something from this, at least.” Sayaka rolled her eyes. “It was unlistenable. I regret coming. I'm going to go home, take half a dozen advil and pray my headache goes away before I pass out.” Ibuki laughed. “Thanks! Ibuki's glad to hear it!”

The punk girl looked over at Aoi. “Ibuki's planning to do dinner with the rest of her band once they're done here. Sayaka already has plans, but are you interested?” Aoi shrugged. “A little, but I ate before I came here. I have studying I need to do, too. Another time, maybe.” She glanced at Sayaka and added one more thing. “Oh and this isn't an excuse either. I'd been planning to go home after this from the start.” Ibuki stood up and stretched. “Your loss.” She skipped away back towards the stage.

Aoi and Sayaka left together, but before long, their paths diverged. Aoi continued back to her dorm. While she had eaten before the concert, she decided to stop by the school dining hall anyway. With some late night donuts to serve as a snack in hand, she returned to her dorm. Kyoko's curtain was already drawn, but a light shone from behind, implying she was busy studying. Aoi did the same for as long as it took to finish her snack. When she was done, she got ready for bed and quickly passed out, her last thoughts hoping the ringing in her ears from the concert wouldn't persist in the morning.


	16. April 13th

Aoi groaned. After spending Sunday busy with swim practice and studying, she hadn't had much time to recover from the concert. She stretched a little on her way to her last class. It was just a few minutes before class would begin and the room was already filling up. As she entered the classroom, she took a deep breath and prepared herself. She sat down at the desk and glanced over at Toko. For once, she was neither writing nor reading. Instead, she was staring at the ceiling and fidgeting with a pen. Aoi ignored that and got ready for class.

After class, Toko packed up and left uncharacteristically fast. Aoi, picking up on her odd behavior, hurried after her. She quickly caught up in the halls and grabbed her shoulder. “Syo?”

Thr brunette whipped around and faced Aoi. “I thought you couldn't tell us apart?” Aoi smiled with the corner of her mouth. “Usually I can't, but you made it pretty obvious this time. Toko has a lot of habits she sticks to in class. She's never among the first people to leave, especially.” Syo shrugged. “Oops.”

She turned back around and started walking again, before stopping and gesturing for Aoi to follow her. She shrugged and started walking. “So why did you come to class today? You don't usually do that.” The other girl shrugged. “I woke up with the body. Miss Morose had written something about being too tired for class in journal so I assume she spent the weekend writing then once she realized how exhausted she is, she gave up and shoved today's responsibilities on me.” She stuck her arms behind her and held onto her neck. “It's not the first time this has happened. Back when she was working on her debut in high school, I was the one going to school at least half the time because whenever she was conscious, she was running us ragged.” She cackled to herself. Aoi responded, “Well, that means she learned to better moderate herself, right?” Syo shrugged. “Maybe. I think it's more that her deadlines are less strict now.” Aoi let out a small defeated sigh. “Ah.”

There was a brief pause before Aoi prompted the next topic. “You're good at passing for Toko. In a classroom setting, I mean. If not for those few things I picked up on, I could've been fooled. I doubt anyone else could tell.” She stared upwards at the clear blue sky for a few seconds before continuing. “You certainly look the part.” Following that remark, she glanced over at Syo, who seemed to ignore it. “I guess I’m just a little surprised at how well you capture her mannerisms, considering you can only talk to her through writing.” Syo shrugged. “She’s a writer by trade. Surely she’s at least good enough at it for me to get an accurate idea of what she’s like.”

“Fair enough.”

The pair continued walking.

“So I guess if you’re able to keep up with class despite this being your first time there, I guess you’re pretty smart?” Syo shook her head. “Nah. Miss Morose does all the studying, but when it comes to boring and dry information like that, it tends to carry over. If I had to guess it’s something about memory and all that bullshit. I don’t really care why it happens that way. It just means that the odd time I go to class instead of her, all I need to do is take notes and leave quickly.” Aoi nodded. “I suppose that’s true. Must be nice.” Syo looked over at her. “How so?” Aoi shrugged. “Having someone who does all the work for you? I definitely wish I could get away with never studying and learning everything anyway.”

“It’s true that I get to coast by as far as classes go, but the cost is that during all that time, Toko gets free reign with the body. That’s how it comes about that she fronts way more than me. I usually get weekends, but unless it’s a case like this, weekdays are her turn with the body. Is this really worth giving up most of your life for that?” Syo cackled to herself again. “I mean, if you think it’s a fair tradeoff, then maybe we could find a way to set this up for you, too.”

Aoi was a bit taken aback by that. “Is- Is that something that can just happen? I thought it was like, you know, in childhood, and-” Syo cut her off. “Not one fucking bit. I mean, I guess some would, of course, but we’re certainly not that way. It’s just been the two of us for as long as I can remember.”Aoi thought about that for a second. “...But how would you have memories from before you existed?” Syo groaned. “You know what I meant!”

“Even if there is a reason why we’re like this, it doesn’t matter, but I doubt there is. Sure, we didn’t exactly have the nicest childhood, but I was there for it from the start as much as she was. Sometimes, people are just like this. I don’t see why it’s so strange for two people to share a body, or more, y’know?” Aoi shrugged and nodded along. “I guess so. Sorry, then, if what I said struck a nerve with you. Must suck to have so many people make assumptions about you based on misinformation that they pick up from media.”

Syo groaned. “Uuuughhhhh. I get you’re trying to be nice to me, but I don’t care about you trying to own up to your fuckup. Yeah it sucks that media is always portraying us as overly traumatized and shit like that, but it’s people like you who look at that and accept it as is. Be more critical of the media you engage with!” Aoi laughed nervously. “Sorry. I’ll keep this lecture in mind.” Syo rolled her eyes at that comment while Aoi continued. “I guess part of why I assumed that is that the Genocider Syo case has been on my mind lately, cause you two share a name.” She stopped suddenly as she realized what she had said. “OH! Sorry for bringing that up again, but I swear I have a reason this time. Apparently everyone says that Syo is probably, well, like you, and that’s so shitty because there’s no reason to assume that. Especially because there’s just so little about that case known, so why would they even think that.”

Syo stopped walking and turned to Aoi, glaring at her all the while. “Isn’t your dorm the other way? You should probably head back before too long. Not much reason to walk this way when you’re just going to have to walk back later.” Without another word, she turned around and started walking away.

Aoi stood alone for a few minutes thinking about the conversation that just happened. She regretted bringing up that case again. She had known it was a bad idea, but she did it anyway. She had no one to blame but herself. 

With a sigh, she turned around and started walking back to the dorm. She stopped at a convenience store for dinner on the way. She greeted Kyoko on the way in, but rather than dive into studying like had become her habit, she flopped in bed. She pulled out her phone and the food she’d picked up on the way home and started texting Sayaka and Ibuki. That conversation went on for hours and by the time it was over, she was exhausted both mentally and physically. She opted to go to bed early and hope the rest of the week would go by without issues.


	17. April 24th

Aoi was practically vibrating with excitement. No matter how childish it made her feel, her birthday at nineteen had her every bit as excited as it did at nine. She had spent the day getting messages from everybody she knew. Family, friends, even acquaintances from her swim team or people from back home were sending her messages. Between classes, Aoi had made sure to greet as many of them as she could and thank them personally. All in all, it had been a busy day for her. However, it wasn’t over yet. Her last stop of the day before returning to her dorm was a night with friends.

Aoi didn’t make her way downtown often. Even besides her busy schedule crowded in by both schoolwork and swim practice, she wasn’t the type to go out on the town for a night with friends. But tonight was a special occasion.

She was the first to arrive. She checked in at the front desk and walked through the halls until she came across the room. She sat down and sent her friends the room number. With the time she had until they would arrive, she familiarized herself with the room.

Aoi had done karaoke before, of course. It wasn’t entirely unfamiliar to her. But most of her experience with it was with smaller machines her school would take out during events. A couple of her friends had dragged her to the same karaoke box before, at the start of the year, but she hadn’t come back since. It had been Sayaka who convinced her to make this how she ends her birthday. That had meant that Sayaka was invited, but Aoi had been uncertain who else to invite. The obvious choice was Ibuki, but Aoi only considered her for a short time before realizing how much of a mistake that would be.

There was a knock on the door. Aoi popped up and opened it. Just outside was the other friend she had ended up inviting, Makoto Naegi. She greeted him and he sat down.

“Happy birthday, Aoi.” She smiled. “Thanks” He shrugged. “I didn’t get you anything, like you said. Still feel kinda bad about that, tho.” The swimmer rolled her eyes. “It’s fiiiine, dude. I don’t need gifts. That you’re here is enough for me.” He smiled. “Yeah, I know...” He laughed nervously.

The two started talking about school. They kept at it for a couple minutes, until they heard a knock on the door. Aoi stood up. “I’ll get it.” She opened the door and let in Sayaka. The idol started walking in, but stopped once she saw the other person in the room.

“No shit?”

Across the small room, Makoto was just as surprised. “Sayaka?” Aoi, surprised at her friends’ surprise, couldn't help but ask for clarification. “Do… you two know each other?” Sayaka turned towards Aoi. “Oh, well, we used to go to school together. As kids.” Makoto chimed in. “Yeah, we attended the same elementary school. Same middle school, too, but by that point, we weren’t in the same class anymore. Then after that I think we went to different high schools. I’d always kinda wished we’d kept in touch through all that, though.” Sayaka laughed. “You were always lucky like that, weren’t you?”

Aoi laughed a little, breaking through the moment the two of them were having. “I can’t even imagine that. My school was tiny, so I was stuck with the same dozen or so kids from start to finish. Not like there was anywhere else to go, too.” She shrugged. “You get used to it. I never minded, but then, it’s not too different from the rest of island life.” Makoto nodded. “Yeah, I mean, I’ve only heard you talk about that a little bit, but it sounds so different from growing up in Tokyo.” As Sayaka sat down, Aoi responded. “Maybe I’ll have to drag you out back home over break.”

Before Makoto could say anything else, Sayaka leaned over and looked at Makoto. “Oh wow.” Below his right eye, in gold lettering, was the sentence,  _ I built it myself _ . Sayaka laughed. “Last time I saw you, that wasn't there.” Makoto blushed. “Yeah, didn't show up until later. I was almost in high school by the time it appeared.” Sayaka nodded. “I see, I see.” She poked it. “Not much of a sentence, tho.” Aoi chimed in, “Better than most, it seems.” Sayaka shrugged. “True.”

As that topic tapered off, Aoi picked up the songbook off the table. “I haven’t really done karaoke a ton before, so I don’t really know how it goes.” She glanced at Sayaka, who rolled her eyes and groaned. “Why do you assume I’d have more experience than you?” Aoi’s face erupted in a timid blush. “Well, I mean… You’re, well… And…” Sayaka rested her chin in her hands and stared at Aoi. “Because I’m an idol? As if I don’t sing enough already at my job?” Aoi backed off. “Sorry…” 

She turned to Makoto with the intent to ask him, but as she faced him, she saw a look of shock on his face. “Wait, Sayaka, you’re an idol?” She rubbed her temple and groaned. “Yes. We’re not discussing this more than that.” He backed off and raised his hands in faux defense. “Sorry.” Sensing she may have gone too far, Sayaka continued. “Gimme your phone number later and I’ll explain at some point. Not interested in that now.”

She turned towards Aoi. “Besides, tonight’s not about me. It’s about Aoi.” The brown-skinned girl smiled. “Right, thanks.” Makoto stood up. “I’ve done this sort of thing with my sister a bunch. She always drags me out with her when she goes out with friends.” Aoi handed the book to him and he flipped through quickly. He picked out a song and started the machine. The girls watched as he sang. He’d picked a pop song that had been popular recently, a rather safe choice. As he finished, he sat back down. The machine gave his performance a grade, a rather good one at that. Aoi clapped. “Wow! You should sing more often. That was really good.” He blushed as she shook his shoulder. “I mean, I guess. People always tell me that, but I don’t really see it.” Aoi waved him down. “No you really are! You could even be a professional singer or a voice actor!” Sayaka stayed silent following that remark.

Aoi picked up the book next. She flipped through excitedly for a few seconds before landing on a page that caught her eye. “Oh, I recognize this song from an anime my brother was watching over break while I visited. I didn't really like it, but the song is good.”

She stood up and the song began. For the next four and half minutes, it was like she was a different person. Her voice was clear and powerful and she was able to match the music as if it was made for her. As she sat back down, Makoto clapped. “That was really good!” Aoi blushed. “I guess. Everyone's always told me I'm a great singer, but it's never felt right. That's just not me.”

Sayaka silently picked up the book and opened it to a random page. As if to address the questioning stares aimed at her, she spoke up. “I don't listen to pop music. It's all too boring and samey for me.” She stared at the page for a second before handing it over to Aoi. “Can you pick something for me?” She nodded and started scanning through.

Naegi laughed a little. “You don't like pop music? What's it like to make it, then?” Sayaka rolled her eyes and shrugged a little. “I don't compose or arrange our music. I just show up at the studio and sing it like I'm told to or show up to shows and perform like we spend all our time practicing for.” She glanced along the ceiling quickly before reaching down into her bag and pulling out a metal bottle, opening it, taking a quick drink, and putting it back down.” Aoi glanced up from the songbook, to which Sayaka shrugged. “Don't worry, it's water.” Aoi let out a sigh which shortly turned into small laughter. “You shouldn’t need to have to clarify that, you know.”

She flipped a couple pages ahead in the book before turning the book back around to Sayaka. “Try this one. Seems like it'd suit you.” The idol nodded and stood up. Her performance began and despite her surly attitude towards the night's activity, she got into it. By the time her song was over, she was almost smiling. She sat down and turned back to Aoi and her friend.

Aoi laughed nervously and diverted her eyes. “You know… I don't think I've heard you sing before. You're… energetic, as I would've expected.” Next to her, Makoto was silent. Sayaka rolled her eyes. “If you think I suck, you can just tell me.”

Aoi shook her head. “I don't think you're bad… Just… less good than I was expecting.” Sayaka leaned back on the couch and stared up at the ceiling. “I do most of my singing practice in a group, so that's where I shine. I'm never my group's center so it's not like I need to know how to take a lead role.” She shrugged. “I might not be the best, but I don't need to be and I certainly don't want to put in the effort needed for that.” She paused. “Although long-term it might be a good idea to practice, in case my group breaks up and I have to go solo…” She trailed off and didn't follow up on that thought.

The trio continued for a couple more sets. By the time those were done, it had been nearly an hour. Aoi yawned. “Well, this was… fun. This was fun! Thanks, guys, for coming.” Makoto laughed. “No problem. Glad you invited me.” He pulled out his phone and checked the time. “I probably should get home soon, though. Sorry I couldn't stay longer for dinner or something.” Aoi shook her head. “Nah, it's fine, dude. I wasn't planning on doing anything like that anyway. May is going to be really packed for me, between finals and the first swim meet, so I want to savor the little free time I have before all hell breaks loose.” 

Makoto smiled. “Understandable. You make me kinda glad I don't do any extracurriculars like that. I usually feel so boring…” He shrugged. “But anyway… Thanks, and again, happy birthday. Hope the rest of it is nice.” He turned around to start walking away, before turning back to the two. “Oh and Sayaka! I'm really glad we were able to meet up again. We really should find some other time to meet and catch up.” Sayaka nodded. “Yeah, sure, definitely.” Then, as if catching the indifference in her voice, followed up with, “Just get in touch. My schedule can be hectic, but I try to make room for friends.”

Aoi leaned over and pulled the two into a hug. “Thanks for coming, guys. This was a great way to spend my birthday and I'm glad you could make it.” She pulled out her phone. “Need to go now, unfortunately. Have a good rest of your night!” She turned towards campus and started running.


	18. May 11th

Aoi frowned. She was on her way to class, towards the end of the day. For the last month, Syo had been coming to class instead of Toko, and since their last conversation, she had rebuked any attempts Aoi made to start a conversation. She knew that Toko was still around, but Aoi was beginning to get the idea that she was being avoided.

With a sigh, she stepped into class, expected to see the seat next to hers either empty or filled with a disinterested Syo. Instead, as she opened the door, she saw Toko, leaned over with a pen in hand, busy writing in a notebook. Aoi walked around the classroom to avoid stepping past the writer and took her seat. Rather than attempt to start a conversation with the surly girl, Aoi pulled out her phone and started texting Sayaka.

“She’s back??!? in class??” A few seconds later, she got a response, “wait, who?”

“Toko. she’s back in class”

“wym?”

“she hasn’t been coming to class lately. sending Syo instead”

“huh”

“but she’s back now and like. idk??? i thought she was avoiding me cause it’s been like a month. maybe she was and she’s done with that now”

“idk”

Aoi put down her phone. By now, the class was full and the teacher was getting ready to begin. She glanced at Toko beside her once more, before taking out her own notebook and pencil. She looked towards the front of the room as the lesson began and tried to not focus on Toko next to her.

Class passed in a blur and before she knew it, it was over. She packed up quickly, but remembering that Toko always lingered after class, she opted to not get up right away. She waited until Toko was done backing and the classroom was empty. Then, the two girls left together, Aoi following behind her soulmate. The two walked for some way and if Toko noticed Aoi following her, she gave no indication of it.

However, Toko didn't walk along the usual path she took home. Aoi didn't question it, instead continuing to follow her. Eventually, the two came to a small empty park. Out of nowhere, Toko turned around and jabbed a finger at Aoi. “Why?”

Aoi stumbled backwards a bit. “Why what?” Toko frowned. “You know what.” There was ire in her voice. Aoi paled. “I really don't. I haven't even seen you for a month.” Rather than respond, Toko grabbed Aoi by the sleeve and pulled her towards a nearby bench, where the two sat down.

Once sitting, Aoi clarified. “I have no idea what you're talking about.” Toko groaned. “Why are you still going after us?” Aoi glanced away as she tried to respond. “Well, you're my soulmates. But I've been giving you space lately, haven't I?” Sullenly, Toko nodded. “You have… But it's clear you're still interested!”

“And what's the problem with that? Why are you being like this? I've been trying my hardest to give you space and not make you uncomfortable. If my emotions make you uncomfortable even when they're invisible, then…” She trailed off. “I don't even know.”

Toko glared at her, but didn't respond. They both sat there on the bench for several minutes, before Aoi spoke up again. “Do you have an answer? Like, at all?” Toko looked away and shook her head. Aoi sighed. 

“Why are we here? Why are we talking about this? You clearly had something you wanted to say, since you led me here. I can tell that how you started this, that question, that's now what this is about. You know my emotions. You don't need to ask me about them anymore because we've been over this.” She paused to take a breath. “So, Toko, what is this about?”

Toko stayed silent. Rather than push the subject further, Aoi did the same. They sat like that for a while. At first, Aoi tried to stay still, but before long, she felt herself getting antsy and started fidgeting with her skirt. She glanced over to Toko, who was still facing away. With a small sigh, she resigned herself to further waiting.

Eventually, Toko whispered something. Aoi leaned over, but couldn't make it out. “Toko, could you repeat that?”

“I'm not going to fall in love with you.”

Aoi nodded, a little confused. “You've said that before. I've already come to terms with this. Why are we going over this again?” Toko finally turned back to Aoi and glared. The sunlight breaking through the gathering clouds shone off her glasses, hiding her eyes. She started to speak, before closing her mouth. Aoi frowned. “Can you at least tell me if this is about why you were avoiding me for a month?” Toko nodded silently.

“Is it about the conversation we had that day?” After a moment's hesitation, Toko nodded. Aoi thought for a second, before asking her next question. “Can… Can you talk right now?” Several seconds passed until Toko turned to glare at Aoi, before nodding. “Ah…”

“Do you want to try writing things out on your phone? Might make this easier.” Toko shook her head once more. “Okay. That's fine. I'll try to ask yes or no questions, then.”

“So this is about the conversation we had a month ago, before you started avoiding me… We didn't talk about much then, if I recall correctly. We covered the same topics we usually do, but then I brought up that I had read one of your books and-” Just then, Toko turned away from Aoi and stared down. “Ah.” Aoi sighed deeply. “So it's about that. Are you mad because I read your book?” Toko vigorously moved her head from side to side, twintails flopping across her back. “Oh! So you're fine with it?” A nod. “So… you were avoiding me because you don't know how to respond to me telling you I read your book and I liked it?” This time, Toko didn't respond. The pair fell silent again.

Eventually, Toko took her phone out of her bag and checked the time. She tapped Aoi on the shoulder, then pointed to the phone, then started getting up. “Oh, you need to go? That's fine, I guess? Are you fine with how this conversation went?” Toko nodded, then nodded again. Aoi gave her a thumbs up. “See you next week, then, I suppose.” Toko nodded, then started walking away quickly.

Aoi lingered on the bench in the park. It started raining, not a pouring torrent, but a light rain. She stayed there in the rain for a couple of minutes before standing up. She also had a lot to get through that day. She started jogging back to her dorm.

She got back and sat down at her desk, but as she started to work, she sent Sayaka a text.

“we talked after class!”

“...Toko, again?”

“who else?”

“i thought you said she's avoiding you”

“not anymore. we talked a little. idk what that was about but we're a little better off now, i think”

“cool. stop talking to me now im busy at work”

“sorry!!!”

After the last message, Aoi dived into her work, which, aside from a break for dinner, held her attention the rest of the night. By the time she was in bed, she was exhausted. However, one more thought still lingered on her mind as sleep began to claim her.

“So are Toko and I friends now?”


	19. May 24th

Aoi woke up to her phone's alarm. It was quiet, but she had slept with it next to her ear to ensure it would wake her up without bothering Kyoko. However, as she opened her eyes and rolled over, she saw her roommate already awake. Or perhaps still awake, considering she had been deep in studying when the swimmer went to bed. Aoi dragged herself out of bed and did her best to get ready without disturbing her roommate. She practically ran through the motions of preparing for her morning, throwing all her swimming gear into her bag and literally running. The sun had risen early, so she had light, but it was still far too early for most stores to be open. She stopped temporarily to grab some donuts from an all-night convenience store, but she quickly returned to her hurried pace.

She arrived at the pool just before 7:00. The meet would begin little over an hour later, but before then she would have to get ready. She finished the last of her donuts and stepped into the crowded locker room.

She was greeted by a number of the other girls on her team. Most were already changed, leaving them waiting around. Topics such as gossip, upcoming tests, and the latest fashion were getting thrown around the room. Aoi dodged those words and instead hurried to get herself changed. Her haste had paid off and once she was done, she sat among her friends waiting for everyone else to show up.

And an hour later, everyone was there. Most had already begun doing stretches or warm-up exercises. When the time came, they hurried out towards the pool. It was time for the first swim meet of the season.

The bleachers were left open to let anyone who wanted to watch do so. They were mostly empty, only populated by friends, family, or the occasional person with nothing better to do on a Sunday morning than watch a college level swim team's first meet. Aoi could see in the audience a number of her friends and several more people she recognized as friends of friends. Silently, she was glad there wasn't much of an audience. Even with her experience at national-level tournaments, she didn't love being in the spotlight, and despite those competitions being so high level, they were still only high school competitions. All this to say, she appreciated the small crowd.

As she walked out with the other girls, she waved to a number of her friends in the audience. They were easy to spot, Ibuki's hair practically acting as a beacon. Aoi waved to them nervously. 

Two hours later, it was over. Aoi lingered in the pool a little after the meet was over, but knowing her friends would be waiting for her, she got out and changed back into her street clothes, not giving her suit time to dry before bundling it in her towel and shoving them alongside her other swim gear and the silver medal she had won. As she left the locker room, she noticed a conspicuous woman hanging around the entrance. Her hair was down and she was wearing dark sunglasses along with a white disposable face mask, but it was unmistakably Syo. Several hundred feet away, Aoi could see her friends waiting. She gestured towards Syo and tried to indicate that she would be a while. She had no idea if the message would carry.

Syo, in her effort to look inconspicuous, was scrolling her phone. Aoi walked up and tapped her on the shoulder. “Hey. Why are you here?” Syo was clearly taken aback by Aoi's forwardness. She grabbed Aoi's arm and pulled her aside into a shady area to the side of the sidewalk. She pulled off her sunglasses and silently stared Aoi in the eyes before finally speaking up.

“We should probably clear some things up.”

Aoi stared. “Is this about why you've been avoiding me?” A beat of silence passed before Syo spoke up again, “Yeah.” She inhaled sharply, before exhaling and beginning her explanation.

“You fucked up.” Aoi flinched. “You fucked up hard and I'm not going to say this is my fault because this was all the fallout of your own words.” Before Aoi could respond, she continued, “Understand this: I've been pissed at you. But!” She paused for emphasis, “I'm ready to put this behind us.”

Aoi stared at her, a look of confusion growing on her face. “Can you at least tell me how I messed up so I don't do it again?” Syo shook her head. “Frankly, it should be obvious.” Aoi sighed and hung her head. “Look, it's been like a month and a half since that conversation. I don't remember every little thing that came up.” Syo rolled her eyes. “Fine. If you really need me to spell this out for you, then I can.”

“Stop treating Miss Morose and I like we're some oddity you're learning about at your leisure. Either stop trying to bring it up or actually figure it out. You say you get it but then every other thing you say on the topic is a misstep. It seriously pisses me off.” She groaned and continued, “And while we're at it, can you stop comparing me to a fucking serial killer? You've brought it up twice now like that's something I would ever want to talk about.”

Aoi raised her head slightly and tried to stutter out a response, before giving up trying to excuse herself. “Look, I'm sorry, I won't do-”

“I don't care if you're sorry. Just stop.”

With that, Syo put her sunglasses back on, turned around, and stormed away. Aoi stared at her as left, lost in thought. It wasn't long before she was brought back to reality by her friends calling for her from their position just a little bit away. Aoi tried perking herself up as she joined the group and they left to celebrate her placement at the meet.


	20. May 26th-27th

?you sure i cant stay with you

Me - 2:38PM

You know my apartment

SYaka - 2:41PM

i only have the one bed and my landlord doesn't even give me an extra key

SYaka - 2:42PM

sorry aoi, if i could i would

SYaka - 2:42PM

it's fine. you're not the only person i can ask

Me - 2:47PM

* * *

hey, i need somewhere to stay over the summer. i didnt sign up for summer classes so i cant stay in the dorms, but i need to stay in the area cause of swim team

Me - 3:12PM

?can i stay with you

Me - 3:12PM

Nah, unfortunately I doubt my mom would be fine with having a girl stay over

Makoto - 3:20PM

Especially for that long

Makoto - 3:20PM

We do have a guest bedroom, tho. I’ll ask

Makoto - 3:21PM

thanks <3

Me - 3:25PM

Yeah, sorry. She’s just not fine with that

Makoto - 3:49PM

thanks anyway

Me - 3:50PM

i’ll just ask another friend

Me - 3:50PM

* * *

i need somewhere to stay for a few months cause of swim team

Me - 4:07PM

?you available

Me - 4:07PM

oh im not gonna be in the area for most of break

Akane - 4:55PM

only have a couple of competitions so i’ll be going home for most of it

Akane - 4:55PM

sorry

Akane - 4:55PM

it’s fine, i have options

Me - 4:59PM

* * *

i need a place to stay for summer

Me - 5:23PM

Why?

Chihiro - 5:23PM

swim practice

Me - 5:23PM

Oh, okay.

Chihiro - 5:23PM

i need to stay in the area but i cant stay in school dorms

Me - 5:25PM

I’d rather not…

Chihiro - 5:25PM

Sorry.

Chihiro - 5:25PM

that’s fine

Me - 5:26PM

i’m sure i’ll find somethign eventually

Me - 5:26PM

* * *

?hey kyoko can i stay with you over the summer

Me - 7:45PM

No.

Kirigiri - 8:00PM

* * *

?does your apartment have an extra bed/bedroom/couch i could crash on over the summer

Me - 9:37PM

ibukis current one does, but shell be out of the country in june and afterwards shes moving in with one of the guys from her band

Mioda - 9:41PM

could give you the key while shes gone, but can’t help after ibuki gets back

Mioda - 9:42PM

i’ll keep that in mind if i can’t find anything else

Me - 9:43PM

* * *

i need somewhere to stay over summer break

Me - 11:21PM

i’ve tried all my other options. trust me, i didn’t want it to come to this

Me - 11:23PM

if you say no i get it

Me - 11:23PM

trust me when i say this isn’t anything romantic aimed at you

Me - 11:24PM

Fuck off

Toko/Syo - 8:33AM

Syo, can i talk to Toko about this? all that was aimed at her

Me - 9:07AM

Fine. You’ll get a chance tomorrow

Toko/Syo - 9:30AM

We only have one bedroom.

Toko/Syo - 8:35AM

that’s fine

Me - 8:40AM

you have a couch that looks big enough to sleep on

Me - 8:40AM

that should be good enough for me

Me - 8:40AM

Alright. Give me a few days to talk this over with her, but I’ll try and make this work.

Toko/Syo - 9:14AM

thankyou so much

Me - 9:16AM

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> formatting this, both in google docs and especially here on ao3, was hell. why did i do this to myself


	21. May 31st

Aoi glanced behind her. The dorm was already empty and barren, once again returned to the state it had been in at the start of the year. Kyoko had already left, with little more than a rushed goodbye. Aoi turned around and faced the room. Then, she set down her bags and decided to check one last time to see if she was forgetting anything. Upon coming to the conclusion that she had everything, she left. It was a far less ceremonious event than she would have thought it to be.

She sent Toko a text giving her an ETA and walked outside. She had already ordered a rideshare to her soulmate’s apartment, and now she just had to wait. Another ten minutes later, a car rolled up and she packed her things in the trunk. The drive was short, but given the amount of stuff Aoi had with her, it would have been unrealistic to carry it with her the whole way.

She arrived at her destination. Rather than carry everything up at once, she left it at the bottom of the stairs and left to knock on the apartment door. After a short pause, it opened slightly, then opened fully, revealing Toko.

“Hey.” Aoi waved awkwardly. Toko eyed her quickly before responding. “Hello. Don't you have bags with you?” Aoi nodded. “Yeah, I do, but I left them at the bottom of the stairs. Can you help me carry them up?” Toko stepped out the door and closed it behind her. “I can't carry much, but I'll try.”

The pair walked down and in a single trip was able to bring up Aoi's bags. They carried them into the front room of Toko's apartment, where they were set down.

It was Aoi's second time being in that room, and her first since February. Even so, she could tell it had been cleaned up since then. She sat down on the couch and turned her gaze towards Toko. “So… what now?” Toko looked down, clearly averting her eyes from meeting Aoi's. “Well, now that I'm not in school, I have a lot of writing and research for my upcoming novel I that I need to do. I assume most of your summer will be spent away from this apartment. We keep the kitchen stocked, so feel free to cook as you want. Here.” She took something from her pocket and leaned over to place it in Aoi's palm. “That's the spare apartment key. Don't lose it.” She paused for a bit. “Other than that, I don't know. You're the first guests I've ever had.” Aoi nodded along with her words. “Got it, got it. Good to know. But I was speaking more immediately. Practice is out until the sixth, but at that point it's three times a week. I can find things to do the rest of the week, so I'm not worried there, but what's the plan today?” Toko stared at her. “I already told you. I'll be writing.” She turned towards her room and started walking away. Aoi spoke up. “Well, can you at least tell me the wifi password?”

“I'll text it to you.”

With a shrug, Aoi started unpacking. She left most of her things in her bags, but key among what she took out was blankets and her laptop. The air conditioning was running and the apartment was quite cold. She inputted the password Toko gave her to her laptop and phone, then covered herself in blankets and laid down. She scrolled twitter and texted friends for some time, constantly having to catch herself on her lack of immediacy. Her dedication to schoolwork in the last quarter of the year had made an impression and now that it was past, she found herself antsy and unfocused. Eventually, her boredom grew absolute and she decided to make some plans with Sayaka. A few minutes later, she was leaving again. She sent a text to Toko telling her the plans and before long, she was gone.

By the time she returned, the sun had set. She found the main room as empty as it had been when she left, and behind the door she could hear an unfamiliar clacking sound that could only be an unusual keyboard. Aoi opted to not disturb Toko, and instead got herself ready for bed.

It was only when she was laying on the couch, preparing to fall asleep, that her situation fully hit her. Here she was, sleeping under the same roof as her soulmates. So much about their relationship was unfortunate, uncertain, and unclear, but she could feel this was a major step forward. She had no idea what her daily life with Toko would be like, let alone how Syo would treat her once the two saw each other again. It was frightening to think about, but equally so, exciting. Her day had been rather simple and easy, but all the same, it left her emotionally exhausted. As she passed from consciousness into sleep, she could only think forward about what her summer would be like.


	22. June 1st

When Aoi first awoke, she had no recollection of where she was. It wasn’t the first time she woke up on a friend’s couch, and as such, it took her a short time before she gathered herself and realized where it was she was staying.

She sat up. The room's curtains were thick and blocked out most light, but a little streamed in through the cracks. She yawned and stayed in “bed” for a few more minutes, until she finally decided to get up. She got dressed and walked over to the kitchen. 

Aoi opened the fridge and various cupboards to see how stocked it was. To her mild surprise, in that regard, it was plenty. A variety of cooking basics filled the shelves. Below the countertop was a number of pots, pans, and the like. After taking stock of what all was at her disposal, Aoi made herself a quick breakfast with what she had available. She ate, washed her dishes, then, with little else to do, she decided to go for a short run. As she left, she texted her roommates to tell them what she would be up to.

Aoi took the run as time to familiarize herself with the area around Toko and Syo's apartment. While it was within walking distance of the college and she had come by several times before, it was an area she hadn't lingered much in. Just seeing the nearby sights and familiarizing herself with nearby stores and restaurants took her plenty of time. She left the apartment early in the morning, but her run didn't end until nearly noon.

At that time, Aoi decided to take a break for lunch. She stopped at a small café and ordered. Then, while waiting for food to arrive, she checked her phone for the first time since leaving. Neither Toko nor Syo had responded to her; however a couple short messages from Sayaka had come in. “Hey Aoi since school's out and I don't have practice today, you wanna hang?” Quickly followed up by, “Like, idk, get drunk at my apartment or go hang out downtown?” Aoi sat down on a nearby bench to catch her breath. “Sure, works for me. Should I show up whenever?” Another pause before the next response, “Sure.”

Food arrived shortly after. Aoi ate quickly, before finishing up and beginning the run back to Toko and Syo's apartment. She yelled a greeting as she entered, to no response, then walked over to the couch and collapsed face down. She laid there for a while, resting, but eventually she stood up again. She changed from her workout clothes into more casual wear, refilled her water bottle, and left for Sayaka's apartment.

It wasn't long before she sat on the floor of the idol’s small apartment. She knocked, entered, and didn't leave for hours. 

By the time she was done hanging out with her friend, it was mid-afternoon. She still hadn't received a response from Toko or Syo, so rather than head back immediately, she opted to walk around the area some more. Unfortunately, that didn't give her much to entertain herself with. With a groan, she turned in the direction of her temporary residence and started running back. She knocked as she entered, to no response, and the small apartment seemed to be empty. With a shrug, Aoi grabbed her duffel bag of swim gear and left once again. She ran to the nearby school pool where her team met for practice. Aoi's choice of sport came from a love of the activity, so despite it becoming a serious effort of hers, it was still something she could, and often did, weather permitting, do for fun.

The pool was largely empty. A few swimmers here and there, but it seemed like if anyone wanted to go swimming in the afternoon the day after the semester ended, they weren't using the school's pool for that purpose. Aoi took the time to enjoy being there with such a little crowd, especially getting through the changing room with little trouble, and as such, she stayed there until the pool was closing. When she got out, she hurried into the changing room and back outside. By this time, it was already beginning to get dark.

With minimal expectations, Aoi checked her phone once more. There were some replies from friends, but none from Toko or Syo. Rather than linger on the conspicuous silence, she opted to go to dinner alone, carrying her bag along with her. She picked a local chain restaurant near the apartment and ate a quick dinner. And then when she was done, she decided to go back.

Once again, she knocked on the door as she entered, and once again, there was no reply. However, this time, due to the dim light of the main room, she could see a light shining in through the cracks of the bedroom door. She found it hard to tell if that room had also been inhabited earlier, when the natural light of the day would've obscured any artificial light coming from the room, but it didn't seem unreasonable to say it was.

She sighed. No use pushing this subject now. Perhaps it was Toko, busy working on one of her novels. Perhaps it was Syo, purposefully avoiding Aoi. She didn't know and she wasn't going to find out.

In an effort to kill time, she flipped on the TV. It seemed her hosts had cable, so she switched between channels until she found a variety program that seemed entertaining enough. She started texting some friends, and between the two, time passed quickly.

A couple hours later, she started yawning. She got ready for bed and started laying down, but before she could close her eyes, the bedroom door opened. Syo walked out and glared at Aoi.

She was undressed.

Over one shoulder, a towel was slung. That covered one of her breasts. Aoi blushed and did her best to not stare, but couldn't help herself. Syo glared at her. “Right. You.” An awkward silence hung between the two for a couple minutes. It ended when Syo turned away and headed for the bathroom. A short time after she stepped inside, the shower turned on.

Aoi tried to sleep, but found herself unable to with the noise from the bathroom. She felt herself growing more tired, but sleep escaped her. Eventually, the water shut off, and several minutes later, Syo stepped out of the bathroom. This time, she had the towel covering her body. As she passed by Aoi again, she shot her another glare, but said nothing. As she returned to the bedroom, the door slammed behind her.

From there, Aoi struggled to sleep. The image of Syo's body stayed in her mind and proved to be a nasty distraction. The fact that it was Toko's body as well was something Aoi didn't stop thinking about. However, eventually exhaustion won out against her overactive imagination and she passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this isn't dead! i have a lot more plans for it, but those might take a while to write so i wanted to put this chapter out there
> 
> said plans have changed a bit since i last worked on this. i ended up cutting summer because i realized it was largely filler. this'll be the only summer chapter, but next time! fall, finally. cool stuff will happen, like actual relationships and Aoi getting a new roommate


End file.
